


Halloween Phone Call

by BubblyShip



Series: Yandere Papyrus Series [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Character Death, Creepy, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, M/M, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), Minor Character Death, Murder Mystery, Oneshot, Original Character(s), Papyrus (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Papyrus is Scared, Phone Call, Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Undertale AU, Yandere, Yandere Papyrus (Undertale), Yandereish, au sans - Freeform, creepy papyrus, is expanded now, maybe expand?, messed up papyrus, other papyrus, plan to expand, two papyrus, undyne is worried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 28,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22530859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyShip/pseuds/BubblyShip
Summary: Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys are hanging out in Waterfall on Halloween talking about their plans for that day.It doesn't go as expected.
Relationships: Alphys & Undyne (Undertale), Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Papyrus & Sans (Undertale)
Series: Yandere Papyrus Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898413
Comments: 83
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

Halloween was probably one of his favorite holidays.

Papyrus loved it almost as much as he loved puzzles. The skeleton had spent three weeks out of the month carefully crafting his costume, making sure it captured his great essence. He was the Great Papyrus! The costume had to match!

The armor was amazing. Getting help from Undyne and Alphys to construct a suit of armor was a good idea, as Undyne already had one and Alphys was rather smart and constructive. Instead of their usual Royal Guard training, they instead switched it to costume planning and making. That's what they did each day, spending it carefully crafting their costumes to amaze the other monsters. Alphys was going to dress up as the main character from her favorite anime, and Undyne was going to be a pirate captain. Papyrus's costume obviously took up the most time, as they had to craft an entire new suit of armor.

Sans was too lazy to bother making his costume until the day of Halloween, the day that they were polishing up their costumes and planning out routes to get the most candy from. Sure, they were adults, but it didn't matter. It was still fun to do!

Due to his brothers lazy nature, and his lack of interest to create a costume before the day, he wasn't involved in their routine leading up to Halloween. He didn't bother coming over, either, as he would wait until Papyrus got home. It happened every year. Papyrus would see on Halloween that Sans had no costume and would always end up helping him make it before they went trick or treating. That lazybones!

Speaking of Sans, as Undyne was declaring how they would trick or treat throughout the entire underground, his phone rang with his brothers name on it. It was later in the day, so he would usually be up around this time. He probably figured out they would be needing to leave soon and was calling Papyrus to force him to make his costume this year again! He's so lazy!

"He totally wants you home to make his costume again!" Undyne laughed, drawing a line on her map of the underground.

"We can c-come over and help s-s-so you don't have to do too m-much of the work," Alphys offered.

They were all sitting around a table, the large map spread out in front of them and marked with many different symbols and notes from over the last couple of the days.

"THAT WOULD BE GREAT!" Papyrus told her, answering his phone. "HELLO BROTHER!"

"Heya Paps, I changed my mind," Sans's voice came through the phone, "You were right. The blue would actually be pretty cool."

"NYEH HEH HEH, I'M ALWAYS RIGHT!" Papyrus declared, "BUT I'M CONFUSED. WHAT?"  
  


Sans chuckled lazily from the phone, rustling coming from his side. "The blue ribbon. You said the blue ribbon would look cool, you were right. I don't want the white one anymore. Don't rib-me-on."

"SANS, THAT WAS TERRIBLE!" Papyrus groaned, Undyne and Alphys looking over.

"Pun?" Undyne asked.

"UNFORTUNATELY, YES," Papyrus said, turning the conversation back to Sans. "BUT I'M STILL RATHER CONFUSED. WHAT RIBBON?"

"The ribbon for my costume," Sans said, "You know, for the wand?"

"YOU ACTUALLY PLANNED YOUR COSTUME THIS YEAR?" Papyrus asked.

"Uh, no." Sans was laughing awkwardly. "You know I never do, Paps. It was your idea for me to be a wizard, remember?"

"I DON'T, NO," Papyrus said, confused.

What did he mean?

"What's going on with him?" Undyne asked.

"I'M NOT SURE, HE'S ASKING ME FOR A BLUE RIBBON AND TELLING ME I ALREADY PLANNED OUT HIS HALLOWEEN COSTUME!" Papyrus told her.

"He could have h-had a dream, maybe?" Alphys offered.

"THAT'S RIGHT! SANS, YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DREAMING!" Papyrus said into the phone.

More rustling from Sans's side. "Okay, now I'm confused. What do you mean?"

"WHAT DO I MEAN? BROTHER, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHAT RIBBON?" Papyrus asked.

"You said the blue ribbon would go cool with the wand, and I'm asking for you to pick up the blue ribbon while you're at the store," Sans said.

"BUT I NEVER SAID THAT. AND I'M NOT AT THE STORE."

"Did you already leave?"

"SILLY BONES, I NEVER WENT TO THE STORE!"

There was a brief pause of confusion from Sans. "Did you not get there?"

Now Papyrus was confused. "I NEVER LEFT FOR THE STORE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

Undyne and Alphys were looking over at this point, both with questioning gazes. Papyrus shrugged back at them, unsure of what to say. Was his brother feeling alright?

"No, stop messing around, I'll stop with the puns now," Sans said, laughing from the other side. "You left for the store, I saw you."

"SANS, NO, I LEFT FOR UNDYNE'S HOUSE FOR OUR COSTUME PLANNING, BUT THAT WAS HOURS AGO!" Papyrus said.

"Is the punk confused?" Undyne asked.

"Yeah, I know," Sans said, "But you came home and started helping me with my costume."

There was definitely some sort of confusion. What did he mean? Papyrus had yet to come home, they were still busy.

"SANS, NO, I NEVER RETURNED HOME!" Papyrus said, holding the phone tighter as he tried to pinpoint exactly what this situation was. "I'M STILL AT UNDYNE'S WITH ALPHYS!"

Papyrus gave Undyne another look of helpless confusion before she took away the phone and put it onto speaker, setting it onto the map on the table.

"Hey punk, he's still here!" Undyne said, "Alphys is still here too! We were planning trick or treat routes! We aren't done yet, he hasn't left!"

"H-Hi Sans!" Alphys called out.

There was another pause of silence. "No, no, you came home. You told me we could get started on my costume and we just spent some time working on it."

"NO I DIDN'T," Papyrus said.

"Yeah, I was watching T.V when you came in," Sans said, his tone confused and uneasy. "You said you guys got done early so you could help me with my costume since I'm late every year. We worked on the design for a wizard and you ran to the store for some supplies. You left sometime ago."

"NO, I NEVER LEFT HER HOUSE, AND I WAS PLANNING FOR YOUR COSTUME TO BE A JESTER OR MAYBE SOMEONE FROM MEDIEVAL TIMES! I WAS EVEN CONSIDERING THE BANANA IDEA YOU SEEM TO KEEP JOKING ABOUT!" Papyrus said.

"A-Are you sure it was Papyrus?" Alphys asked.

"Yeah, it was him! Are you guys pranking me? This isn't really funny," Sans said.

Everyone at the table shared confused glances. What were they supposed to do? Papyrus was here the whole time.

"Could you send a picture at all?" Undyne asked, "Of that 'Papyrus' or maybe the costume design?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, I'll send it to you 'dyne," Sans said.

There was movement on his side of the conversation before Undyne's phone buzzed. Pulling it out, she clicked on the screen a few times before flipping around the phone to show her other two friends. And indeed, Sans was right, there was a picture of Sans sitting on the couch, surrounded by pictures and clothes from their basement. Papyrus recognized the fake beard that his older brother often used at Christmas whenever he dressed up as Santa. In the picture, Sans was holding up a couple pieces of paper with costume ideas on them, some crossed out. The wizard one was circled.

"We did the usual list thing where we listed out our ideas and crossed them off, like every year," Sans said from Papyrus's phone, "And then we started working on it, and then you said we could buy some more stuff to make me look cool..."

"WHEN WAS THIS?" Papyrus asked.

"I dunno, you came home, or didn't come home I guess, around an hour ago?" Sans muttered.

"BUT I NEVER DID!" Papyrus said.

"I mean, if you didn't, than who did I talk to? They looked and sounded like you, they-they acted like you... I'm kind of freaking out, Paps. This is a joke, right? A really dumb joke for revenge for my puns? And you managed to get Undyne and Alphys all the way in Snowdin on such short notice to help, right?"

"The river person is always out on Halloween, it's the only holiday they take off, you know that!" Undyne said, "Here, I'll send you a picture of us three right now."

The fish monster took a quick picture of them before sending it, the three waiting for his response nervously.

"Oh... f*ck me..." Sans grumbled from the phone, "Okay, okay, so if you're over there, then how come I was just talking to you? You don't have a secret twin or something, do you?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Papyrus said, "THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"I think, whoever y-you were talking to, they weren't Papyrus," Alphys told Sans.

Sans seemed a bit aggravated over the phone, his breathing quickening. "That seems kinda obvious now, Alph. Uh, okay, this is fine. We can figure something out. Maybe some kids or pulling a prank... and it was just a really good costume... no, that wouldn't explain... and the other you did seem kind of..."

"Kind of what?" Undyne asked.

"Uh, I don't think it was some kids wearing a costume, it was way too much like my bro. I don't think whatever it was, I... I don't think it was a monster."

"YOU'RE SCARING ME, SANS? WHAT HAPPENED?" Papyrus asked.

"You- er, the other you, I guess, seemed different than normal? You- it looked like you, and sounded and acted like you, but when y- he came home, it got colder in here. And the other clone or whatever just stared at me longer, and I thought you were a bit touchy too, but I didn't really notice these things... I mean, it was like you!" Sans objected, "I just brushed that stuff off because well, it was you!"

"OBVIOUSLY IT WASN'T!" Papyrus said.

"Hey, h-hey, let's all calm down," Alphys said, "There's a g-good explanation for this, s-somewhere..."

The lizard monster trailed off, her eyes darting around as she tried to come up with a scientific theory that would explain her friends double. This couldn't be a prank, only their friend group really know the skeleton brothers traditions for Halloween. And if they were able to pull off the Papyrus act with Sans for a whole hour without the very observant skeleton noticing...

There was something bad going on.

"Did anything else happen?" Undyne asked, "Did he say anything weird, phase through a wall like a ghost maybe?"

"If Papyrus did that, I would have known it wasn't him," Sans grunted, "He seemed normal, whatever that guy was! He told me he had come home from planning your costume, and then he told me a funny story about how Undyne had exploded a smoothie earlier today and that she had to change all of her clothes, and-"

"This is way too weird!" Undyne snapped, running a hand through her hair.

"Huh?" Sans asked.

"T-That, i-it..." Alphys trailed off, shaking with worry.

"SANS, THAT HAPPENED TODAY! SHE DID GET SMOOTHIE ON HERSELF, EARLIER TODAY!" Papyrus almost choked on his words.

"Well, then whoever was here earlier knew about it somehow!" Sans said, "Did anyone else besides you guys see it? The wannabe Papyrus told me that she had to dive in front of her costume to keep it from being ruined, did that happen?"

"YES, IT DID!" Papyrus said, "BUT IT HAPPENED INSIDE! WE DIDN'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT!"

"Was someone watching us?" Undyne said, "Ugh, I don't get this!"

"This is too weird, I don't like this," Sans mumbled.

"Did he say anything e-else?" Alphys asked.

"Um, he told me he wanted to make my costume now, and then we came up with ideas, and we both liked the wizard one..." Sans said, his voice weak from being scared. "And then we started working on it, and we did our usual thing that the real Papyrus and I do, with the jokes and puns... then he said he wanted to go grab some rib..."

Sans went dead silent.

"Sans?" Undyne asked.

Rustling can be heard from over the phone, Sans's huffed breaths coming in short bursts.

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Papyrus asked, "DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?"

"I-I... oh Toby Fox, I'm in the kitchen now," Sans said quickly, "No, no, no..."

"WHAT'S WRONG?"

Papyrus was terrified for his brother. What if something happened? Whatever was going on, this wasn't a good situation for his 1 HP brother to be stuck inside of. The skeleton just wanted to reach through the phone and pull out his dear older brother, to hold him close and tell him everything was going to be okay, and that whatever that thing was, that it wouldn't touch him. This wasn't how Sans was supposed to go, this wasn't how Papyrus wanted to learn what grieving was. In fact, he never thought about it! He just expected to live forever with Sans, to never have, to never have to worry about his brothers safety.

"The other one, whatever it is- oh gosh it's back... I heard the keys outside of the front door and I ran, I'm climbing out the window in the kitchen now," Sans said, movement being heard from his side of the conversation.

There was nothing the other three could do but listen. Undyne's house was rather far away from Papyrus's, they couldn't just run over and help. It would take far too long.

Sans was on his own against something unknown.

And that terrified all of them.

"Sans, listen to me," Undyne said, taking charge over the situation. "You and Papyrus played hide and seek in the woods a lot, right? He told me once that you had this one golden hiding place that he still doesn't know about to this day. If this clone or whatever it is has his memories, it wouldn't know where to find you. Go there and wait, we're going to come over. If you see Papyrus, and he isn't with either me or Alphys, run."

"Yeah, okay, I'll do that," Sans said, "I don't want him following me though, I'm not sure-"

Sans suddenly went silent again. The rustling stopped with his breathing, the only sound of the soft wind from Snowdin could be heard.

When Sans spoke again, his voice was quiet and small.

He was terrified.

"He's... h-he's at the window..." Sans whispered.

The room suddenly felt colder as the three heard what he had to say. Whatever that was with his brother knew he was trying to escape, and was watching him. Papyrus was a faster runner than Sans. If he managed to climb out of that window before Sans was out of view and chase him down, the hiding spot couldn't save him.

"RUN!" The three shouted.

"Sh*t- sh*t- sh*t-"

Sans repeated the same words over and over as his breathing increased, the wind and rustling from his side becoming louder. Loud snow crunching with footsteps joined the collection of sounds edmitting from the phone, Undyne trying to figure out a way to help Sans from a distance while Papyrus and Alphys both had mental breakdowns over the situation.

"Tell me what's going on!" Undyne said, "Sans?"

"HE'S CHASING ME, HE'S RIGHT BEHIND ME!" Sans yelled, "GO AWAY, GO AWAY!"

Other distant footsteps joined in with Sans's, slowly rising in volume.

Whatever was chasing Sans was closing in. Fast.

And just like that, all of the sounds crashed together.

The footsteps both stopped when Sans yelled out in pain, a crash and snow crunching being heard. The three could only listen as their friend, for the first time they've ever heard, let out the highest pitched scream. The scream echoed around their room from the phone, causing Alphys to let out a large wail. Papyrus simply stared down at the phone with his soul pounding in his chest, Undyne trying to communicate to Sans.

And just like that, it went silent. The struggling from the other end of the line ceased entirely when Sans's scream ended. There no snow crunching, no huffed breathing, just utter silence.

The call then ended.

~~~~~~

Undyne and Papyrus had made it to Snowdin as fast as they could, quickly asking other people if they had seen Sans or Papyrus that day. One monster said they saw Papyrus in the store down the road, and that he had been buying a couple of white and blue ribbons. Another said they saw Papyrus arrive home earlier that day.

The halloween costume ideas and parts were still in the living room, resembling the same picture Sans had sent earlier. The window in their kitchen was still wide open, cold air blowing in through the curtains. On the floor next to the window was a grocery bag from the store.

White and blue ribbons were inside of the bag.

The footsteps from Sans and another pair of feet were leading from the window, the two deciding to follow it. At the end of the footstep trail was a large pile of messed up snow, presumably where Sans had been taken down. There was only one pair of footsteps that led away for a few feet before stopping altogether. Papyrus sobbed with relief when Undyne noted there was no dust for evidence of a death.

Lying in the snow next to the messed up area was Sans's phone, the screen lightly lit, taunting them as they looked at his background.

It was different now.

Before, it had been a picture of Sans and Papyrus, the _real_ Papyrus, in Hotland. Instead, now, it was a different picture.

Sans was laying in a pair of arms, that held him above the snow, right where Undyne and Papyrus were standing. The pair of arms looked way too similar to Papyrus's.

He was looking up at the camera with tear stained eye sockets, one of the gloved hands pressing against his teeth as if to silence him, and a long blue ribbon was tied around his wrists.

They... they were meant to find this. Whoever or whatever took Sans wanted them to find this, so it could send a clear message.

Sans was its now.

And it wasn't going to let him go.


	2. Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES, I KNOW, IT'S HERE! THE CONTINUATION OF THE ONESHOT IS HERE! A LOT OF YOU ASKED, AND NOW IT'S HERE!
> 
> Some notes, though. First off, I'm uploading this a day earlier than my Wattpad, so your updates will be a bit wonky until the two even out. Second...
> 
> I'm sorry for the wait! I originally had a completely different continuation, but it was crap and then this idea came to mind and I love it so much more. So here we go!

The plague of silence carried throughout the dry and cold hallway, the bitter air nipping at those unfortunate enough to find themselves within the building. Of course, that’s where Gwen found herself. 

But this was of her own choice. She signed the forms, she trained for this. She was fully aware of what she was getting into when she accepted this job. The hallways, unfortunately, came with this job. Filled with the dread this particular job proposed. 

The files dug into her hands, the threat of a paper cut somehow crossing her mind. Even though she was about to do something far more dangerous, not only to herself, but for the wellbeing of people, paper cuts still somehow concerned her. Gwen had to do this for them, for those people who wanted to live their lives in peace. 

Walking into the room, she could see the suspect through the glass. They couldn’t see her, of course. Her coworker, a monster of electricity, stood behind the glass, their blue body crackling with energy, waiting patiently. 

“Ready?” Her partners voice matched the room, sharp and cold, yet anticipating her response. 

“Three suspects, and this is the first,” Gwen spoke evenly, “All at the scene of the crime when the enforcements arrived. The other two are still in custody?”

“Of course,” The monster said next to her, “We have enough evidence to keep them for awhile, we’ll be able to question them one after the other. Naturally, with coffee breaks.”

“Only naturally.”

It was practically disgusting, to think a person could ever find it within themselves to kill another. Gwen was always a firm person, sometimes stubborn, yes, but she held firm to her beliefs. Firm to the government, to her duty to protect the innocent lives of others. This was what she wanted to do, save innocent people and rid the world of these vile people.

“Do we have a time frame?” Gwen asked.

“It’s a full blown murder investigation, we know from how secluded the house was the murderer had to be within the room when law enforcement arrived. We have a enough time.”

Her coworker gently lifted the piping coffee to his mouth, enjoying the early beverage as he watched the suspect awkwardly adjust in their seat. Gwen adjusted her own files, their weight light of the knowledge they possessed.

“There’s not much to go with,” Gwen said, her black ponytail shaking with her movements. “All we know is the victims name and appearence, location, and murder weapon. But we know nothing about the victims life style, their job, or even the suspects themselves.”

“Oh please,” Her partner teased, disinterest with the investigation sparkling across his magical body. “I’ve seen you solve worse. All you had was that bloody pen, and you found that body in a week flat with the suspect only two days later. You have a lot more knowledge, and it looks rather straightforward. Someone used the weapon in that room, killed the guy, and didn’t get to escape by the time we got there. If anyone can get this boy to crack, you can.”

“At least we only have three suspects, I assume it’ll be straightforward.” Green eyes blinked down at the files in hand. “I just don’t like how little we know about personality. Sure, all of the facts are there, but there’s a concerning lack of substance to everything involved.”

“Johnson might have screwed up with the information again, I’ll go ask for you.”

“Be quick, Cooper. I doubt there’ll be much, but I’d like to know the bastard before we send him to the chair. See what kind of sicko decides to kill.”

Playing games with Gwen was always a frustration to other people, especially the game ‘would you rather’. Gwen always believed there was a third option, that nothing was ever straightforward with only set paths. She chose her own path, and darn it, she would find that third option herself. That’s why, despite all of the evidence they had, she was still sending her partner to fetch more.

There was no doubt that one of these suspects killed him, that was for sure. At most this investigation would take a few days until one of them cracked and spilled the beans, and even that timeframe was stretching it. Her partner was right, they had stupidly enough evidence to continue. It was going to be easy, especially for someone of Gwen's intellect.

No, the information she wanted would save others in the long run. Murder within itself was disgusting, no matter the situation. Their government adjusted accordingly to that. When someone was put on the chair, those times Gwen would watch, she never felt sorrow for their pitiful life. When one would throw themselves into the pits of hell’s temptations, there was nothing more to do than send them down to meet their eternal punishment.

That’s why she did this. To find those cruel enough to end another's life, those who took the easy route of despair and destruction for their own gain. They were the ones who set their punishment, the government simply pulled the switch the murderer had created themselves. No matter the cause, murder was destined for death, by their laws. Gwen protected those laws.

She wanted the information to determine how to prevent innocent people from spiraling out of control. So many deaths could have been avoided if people were in control of their emotions, or simply paid attention to their surroundings. Through experience, she’s seen what leads to a murderer committing their sinful act, and it always included a second option the sinner failed to grasp. 

Cooper was back soon, a quick head shake giving Gwen everything she needed. That was odd, and giving a curious glance to him only earned a shrug in surprise. Nothing at all about the suspects or the victim?

“There was nothing, he said he doesn’t get it either. It was a house being rented out under the victims name, but it was direct mailed payment, so he has no bank statements or previous address. I can go question the owners, see if they knew anything about these people,” Cooper said.

Gwen twisted the files, looking at the suspect. “Please do. I’m going to go in now.” 

“Good luck.

“Ditto.”

Gwen had to pause when she finally did step into the suspects room, the hair on the back of her neck standing up from the sudden temperature drop. Dear lord, the room was never this cold! Sure, it was usually cold, but she could feel the temperature drop from cold to freezing within a second. The heater in here must be broken.

Despite the temperature change, the officer continued onwards, Gwen dropping the files onto the table with a crisp cut of air before the sound of her chair followed. This was their first suspect of three, and was the prime suspect.

Probably because he was covered in blood.

It clung to his blue hoodie, some of it drenched across the underside of his skull. Sharp eyelights watched her every move, analyzing her as she did him. Their stare off was cut short when she finally sat down, file peeled open to reveal a collection of evidence filled papers within.

“You and two other suspects were found within the room owned by a man by the name Papyrus Font, a skeleton monster like yourself that had been renting out the house you were found inside of.” Gwen was straightforward. “When the police arrived, you and the other suspects were found above Mr. Fonts dust pile with a knife on the premises. Is that correct?”

“Aren’t I supposed to have…” The other spoke slowly, looking around the room.

“I asked if that was correct,” She said.

“Okay, yeah, it’s right,” He said.

“Can you give me your full name?”

“Uh… Comic Sans Font.”

There was a brief pause before Gwen looked up briefly from the file, finding that, as she suspected, this man was not joking. It should have made sense, they were the same species of monster, but still.

“So you were related to-”

“No.”

This time, it was Sans’ turn to interrupt, his cold voice cutting through her sentence before she could finish. Gwen blinked at him, slowly lowering down the papers to finally give him full attention.

“I’m not related to that thing,” Sans said, “He may be a Papyrus, but he wasn’t mine. And he never will be.”

“Your Papyrus?” She asked.

Sans chose not to answer, leaning back in his chair and gently looking down at his blood soaked hands. Seemed he already hated the man enough to attack him, she might have a confession quicker than anticipated.

“Sans, you and I both know this is very serious,” She said, leaning forward. “A man’s life has been taken earlier today, and you are one of the prime suspects for this investigation.”   


“Oh, right, suspect the person who was kidnapped by the guy… as if he didn’t deserve it,” Sans muttered, crossing his arms. “That Papyrus thing is dead, and everything in the world is great again.”

“Kidnapped?”

Sans looked at her like she was an idiot. For the first time in awhile, she didn’t return that look. 

“Um, yeah, I was kidnapped by the guy,” Sans said.

“ _ What _ .”


	3. Chapter 2 - Interrogating The First Suspect

Gwen knew this case wasn’t going to be as easy as it seemed. A gut feeling, as one would call it. The twisting sense that something was more than it appeared, that this case would drag on longer than thought. Gwen trusted her gut feelings, and they were right. Every case she had taken on, the female followed her gut when facts seemed off, and it always led her to the solution. 

But this early in, and she had already messed up. After hitting Jonathan a few times with her newspaper for not giving her and her partner the full report, she had returned to the suspects room, acquiring more papers. Not many, but more than before.

So this man, Sans, was a victim. That would explain his hatred of the man, as he had been kidnapped by him. All three of the suspects had kidnapped. Which means her previous aim for interrogation was trash now, as they were in a different position. What Gwen had assumed was a skeleton gathering or friends gathering, to where one of the suspects had snapped and attacked the other, dusting them. Now she knew they had been kidnapped, and one of them had lashed out trying to escape and killed their kidnapper.

Either way, kidnapped or not, it didn’t matter. Victim or not, a murderer was a murderer. One of them would be placed in the chair, as one of them had killed him. The other two would be set free, and would be helped like normal kidnapped victims. 

Well, they would be, if she knew who they were.

Obviously they were monsters, but there was no records of them. Of any of them. Papyrus Font? His only ever record was of him renting out the house the murder took place within, and even then it was scarce. Comic Sans Font? He didn’t even exist, period. In fact, skeleton monsters were thought to have went extinct years ago, so it was odd to see any left. 

Then there was the case of what Sans said. ‘His Papyrus’. Perhaps they had been siblings, but due to the sudden kidnapping of his three brothers, then Sans had disowned him. It would make sense. 

But when she returned to question him, her theory was shot down.

“What? No, they aren’t my brothers,” Sans said, “None of them are. That guy who died-”

“Papyrus.”

“I’m not calling him that. The guy who died tried to make us brothers, he was f*cking crazy.”

This was going to take a lot longer than a few days, wasn’t it?

“He tried to make you brothers?” Gwen asked. 

“Yeah.” Sans shifted in his seat, his handcuffs clanking with the movement. “He kidnapped us because his brother died and he wanted us to replace him. He didn’t even tell us about his dead bro, we had to find the dust ourselves.”

“The report only documented one pile of dust, who was Papyrus Font,” Gwen pointed out, “Should we do another sweep of the house for his brothers dust?”

“No, it wasn’t in that house,” Sans said, “It was in another.”

“Another?”

“In the first universe, yeah.”

Gwen let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through her black hair, letting pieces fall into her view without any restrictions. This man was impossible. First he was talking about a Papyrus that ‘wasn’t his’, now he was talking about universes?

Maybe she could just send him straight to the chair for insanity. Yeah, that’d make her life better.

“Universe?” Gwen asked.

Sans blinked a few times, letting out a huff as he leaned back. No answers were given for her.

“Universe?” Gwen repeated, annoyance tinted in her tone.

“Yeah, universe,” Sans muttered, “But there’s no point, you don’t understand.”

That statement was obvious. Of course Gwen didn’t understand, because this man was crazy! He was talking nonsense at this point, he made no sense. But, then again, he didn’t seem insane. Sans talked normal, he didn’t appear mentally unstable.

Without much more to do, Gwen flipped open the new folders, looking at the pictures of the crime scene. When she found her desired image, she turned it around, showing Sans. It was a picture of the dust, with a pair of chains slightly in frame due to the angle. A few more printed out pictures followed, showing different aspects of the scene. 

“Were you in the room when the man was dusted?” She asked.

Sans nodded.

“Were you watching?”

“Yeah, I was under him. It’s how I got the blood and dust on me.”

Gwen let her eyes wonder over him, nodding softly. Yeah, she should tell the other officers to get the man a change of clothes. Right now, he saw himself as the victim, and if he did murder the man, he would still see himself as the victim. And if he didn’t kill him, then the man deserved nothing but help for being kidnapped, as other kidnapping victims deserved. They would help him, of course. 

But if he did kill the man, then he would get the chair. It was the law. 

“Did you see who committed the crime?”

He shook his head. “No, he was stabbed from behind, and I was in front of him. Didn’t see who did it.”

Her gut told Gwen otherwise. If Sans didn’t kill Papyrus, he knew who did. And he was covering for them, no doubt.

“Well, thank you for your time,” Gwen said, standing up. “We’ll take another break. I’ll send you back to your cell.”

“What- Only after a few minutes?” Sans asked, “Don’t you have more to ask me?”

Gwen pushed her folders closed, scooping up the small amount of evidence into her arms. “Yes, but I have two more suspects to question as well, and more things to do. I think that’ll be all for today.”

Her partner was waiting outside of the room for her when she left, Cooper closing the door behind her. The fragrance of coffee fluttered from his mug, reminding her of his love for the beverage. Since he was an electrical monster, one would think a drink like gatorade or powerade, but no, oddly he found those disgusting and preferred tea and coffee. 

“You want me to take a crack at him?” Cooper asked.

“No, let’s have him go back like I said, and I’ll review over the evidence while they bring in the second suspect.”

With a flick of her wrist, she motioned to two of the officers to move the skeleton, the two nodding and moving to access the other door towards the cells. Cooper and Gwen moved into the room behind the glass, watching Sans get escorted out of the door before he disappeared. 

The side table was were Gwen sat, spreading out the files to evaluate them once more. Funny, she used to think this room was always cold, but due to the sudden drop of temperature in the interrogation room, she found this room to be more comforting and warm in comparison. 

“Guys crazy,” Cooper muttered.

“I… I’m actually debating on that,” Gwen said.

“What do you mean? Guy is talking about universes and other crazy crap,” Cooper said, settling down across from her. “I think he did it, and he’s just bluffing to try and blame one of the others.”

“Do you, though?” Gwen asked, looking up. “If he was trying to cover for himself and pin one of the other suspects, then he would have said he saw one of the others do it, or he would have at least tried to hint at one of them. But he didn’t, he said he didn’t see who stabbed him. That means he’s covering for them if he didn’t kill the man, and if he did, then he doesn’t want to admit, but he doesn’t want to put one of his friends in the chair. Not to mention how he was confused by me ending the interrogation, if he was the one who did it he would have been relived and trying to get away, not questioning it.”

“Are you saying he’s innocent?”

“I’m saying there’s a  _ possibility _ ,” Gwen pointed out, “If he is the murderer, I do plan to pull the switch on the chair myself to watch his soul be shut down. You know I don’t tolerate murder, no matter what.”

“Of course I know that, I know you Gwen,” Cooper chuckled, “And I know you’re smart, I would’ve never thought about it that way.”

“You look more towards evidence than people, it’s why I do the questioning,” Gwen said.

“Because people are dumb,” Cooper said, snorting lightly. 

“It’s fine, you’ve always been good with the technical things,” Gwen said, “If it wasn’t for you, the case with the killer robot wouldn’t have been solved. I would have never even guessed it was a robot. Much less that one Flegerson case, your camera recheck saved us.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m just better with the technical stuff, you deal with the mental people stuff,” Cooper said.

His electrical hands reached out, static gently brushing against the table as he picked up one of the pictures. “What I don’t get is the fact that they’re all skeletons. I know for a fact the skeleton genetics of monsters had run out even before the war started, but now there’s just three skeletons randomly out of nowhere, with a fourth suddenly dead?”

That was a good question. Ever since the human and monster war, a lot of changes had been made due to the monsters losing the war. Either way, this was their society now, and Gwen agreed with their beliefs. A murderer was a murderer, and punishment fit the crime. Whoever had killed Papyrus would get their souls shut down, and would be dusted. Gwen just had to find out who. 

“And I don’t get this.” Cooper held up an image, showing off a picture of a weird device that was labeled as evidence. “I can’t even tell what this does, but I can tell it has some high up functioning parts. That’s a model 2-4B used to power, heck, that’s as powerful as the entirety of the eastern district. You know, past the ice cream place.”

“That’s a lot of power, then, why would a man who rented a house with the claims ‘I just wanted to live in a peaceful area’ have something like that?” Gwen asked.

“Yeah, it's weird,” The monster said, “I don’t know what it does, though, I’ve never seen something like this. Whatever it does, it needs a lot of power to run. And Papyrus was stabbed in the back, we’ve confirmed this by his dust, he was murdered by the bloodied knife on the floor by being stabbed in the back. That means whatever this thing is, it wasn’t used to kill him.”

Before Gwen could reply, the room door was pushed open, one of the escorting officers peaking in. “The second suspect is ready for questioning.”

The two gave her a quick thanks before the officer retreated back out, letting the partners have a moment to think.

“Here, you go question the second subject,” Cooper said, standing up. “I’ll go get Johnathon and his assistant to help me with this machine from the evidence room.”

“Do you think it has anything to do with the case?” Gwen asked, following his towards the door.

“It could,” Cooper said.

With that, the two split without any farewells, Gwen turning towards the interrogation room door and adjusting the files in her hand. Did she think Sans was the killer? Well, she wasn’t sure. There wasn’t enough information yet, and she had two more suspects to question. 

It was almost jarring, walking into the freezing room. She would have to have a serious talk with the management to install more heaters. 

Another skeleton sat across the table, a pair of handcuffs trapping him just as they did Sans. However, the skeleton blinked a red eye light back at him, sharp teeth grinding lightly as a golden tooth gleamed under the intense light.

“The f*ck do you want?” The skeleton snapped.


	4. Chapter 3 - Evidence Room

Crackling electricity sparked along the image, fingers digging into the edge as the man on the other side blinked a few times. He adjusted his glasses, then looked to Cooper behind it.

“Yeah, we have that piece of evidence,” Johnson said, moving back behind his desk to grab a key. “You think I’ll get to pull the switch if this ends up helping the investigation?”

“No, you know that honor goes to the leading officer,” Cooper said, grabbing the key from him.

It was considered an honor to be a police officer, a person of the law. The world rejected sinners, and the way they rejected them was through the government. Particularly the police who convicted those that broke the law.

Murder by far was the worst sin, and sending a murderer to death was considered a high honor. To condemn a sinner to hell was as high as a saint, it was what every police officer strived for. To get a confession from a murderer, to send them to the chair and be the one to take a sinner from the world.

No wonder Johnson wanted to be the one to pull the switch, it would advance his career. The act of him even participating in this crime would boost him, anyone who was even slightly involved in solving a murder case this size was bound for a decent reward. And even if one didn’t pull the switch themselves, they were still held up as being a protector of society.

Gwen was one of the highest police officers around, her accomplishments were astounding. She was an amazing detective, one who had pulled the switch on a number of cases. Cooper himself had managed to get in a good number himself, and they had become partners due to it.

In the end, they were a good team. Gwen dealt with the people, and her ability to understand the suspects helped get confessions. And in certain situations, even when they got a confession, she delved deeper despite the evidence and found the true murderer whenever someone would confess despite their innocence. She was good with the people, and Cooper was good with the evidence and technology. It was a good balance. Though, in the end, it really was Gwen who carried their investigations. She had more of a passion for this then Cooper.

There wasn’t much in the evidence room for this case. The murder weapon was enclosed within a sealed bag, wrapped carefully. As was the machine, set next to the jar of dust.

It was an odd looking machine, with the power source connected to the side. It was built pretty well, and it looked really advanced.

But there was one problem. It was utterly destroyed.

Pieces were cracked, others bent, and a few left as just scrapes. The only thing in tact was the power source, and that was due to the protective covering to ensure no one would get shocked from it. It didn’t matter to Cooper, he was electricity. An electrical monster only got a power up from a shock, it wouldn’t do anything but give him more energy.

From the looks of it, it had been thrown to the ground before it was smashed repeatedly from the top, likely from a blunt object. A light bat, or maybe a shoe would be a good option. If it was something with more force, like a heavy weighted bat or a crowbar, there would be far more damage.

But there wasn’t, and Cooper could still see the parts. His husband worked with some of this stuff, so he could easily replace a few parts. It would be a little difficult to find the right router, though, but the coding was intact it seemed. That was good. Once he gave it a little boost to the battery, and once he fixed it up, all he would have to do would be reactivate the code and give it a better covering.

Well, time to get started.

~~~~~~

If Gwen had thought the first skeleton was worse, she was wrong.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“Sans.”

Okay, he has to be joking.

She let the folder flap fall to the table, looking up at him with a deadpanned expression. The skeleton gave a toothy grin, flashing off his sharp teeth.

“Your name is not also Sans,” She said.

“Yeah, ‘s actually,” He said, low voice rumbling as he leaned back. “Comic Sans Font.”

“What is your real name?” Gwen asked.

“Yer can call me Red.”

“Last name?”

“Red.”

Gwen blinked at him. “Your name is Red Red?”

“Nah, it’s okay Red,” He said.

“Fine, Red…”

Gwen wrote down his name on the notebook paper, placing down the pen afterwards.

“Oh man, this is a fun room,” The skeleton snorted, tapping his chuffed hands against the table. “We ain’t got any of these interr’ rooms, not where I’m from.”

“Of course you had interrogation rooms, everywhere has interrogation rooms. It’s the law,” Gwen said.

“Not where I’m from.”

“Let me guess, from another universe?”

Gwen hadn’t bothered to observe him for his reaction, assuming he would make some comment or start laughing. He seemed like that type of man, one who probably said how ‘manly’ he was but would scamper to the floor like a puppy when he encountered the first sign of danger. Gwen had met a few of those in the same room, a few females like that too who were confident until the first signs of danger flashed. All show, no action. Not that Gwen really cared, as they didn’t need to learn how to fight. Not with her protecting them, keeping the murderers at bay by sending them back to their maker. She didn’t care who was in her room, she just wanted to find the truth.

The lack of a response, though, was what made her look up. Her assumptions of him, like the other Sans, was quickly proven wrong. His smile had fell, his cocky and amused attitude dropping the moment she had finished her sentence. His red eyelight focused on her as if she had just told him that she was going to kill him.

“Who told you that.”

His voice was dead serious now, almost as cold as the air that prickled at her skin. His slouched posture was gone, and his words were pronounced more properly.

An act. His cocky and dumb attitude had been an act, he was planning on playing stupid. No doubt the reveal of what Sans had said quickly dropped that idea faster than his fake smile had dropped.

He was just as worried about this case as Sans was, he had just been hiding it.

“A different suspect,” Gwen said, “Say, why is the universe thing so important? Are you actually from another universe?”

“F*cking… I’ll kill him,” Red hissed lightly, twisting his wrists. “He goes and finally f*cking proves he ain’t a wimp, then he f*cking rats us out? The hell?”

“No one is killing anyone,” Gwen said, “And are you saying what Sans said is actually true?”

“Wait, _Sans_ said that?” Red clarified, “Not the other one, with that thing… Sans? Blue hood, covered in blood? He’s the rat?”

“No one is the rat, Sans mentioned universes before he shut down,” Gwen said, “And I don’t believe something like that without proof. Why are you so adamant about the alternate universe statement? Is it true?”

Red didn’t respond, shifting his wrists again as he moved. The guy didn’t seem very comfortable in the room, constantly shifting his wrists under the handcuffs.

Gwen took a glance down at his wrists, catching sight of his bones. They looked worn down, a few fingers lightly chipped here and there. What really caught her attention, though, was the indents and red marks on his wrists. They were too wide to be from the handcuffs, but they looked to be marks from being restrained, from him struggling against the constraints.

Like chains.

“You were chained to the wall inside of the house too, weren’t you?” Gwen asked Red.

Red didn’t respond, moving to pull his black hoodie sleeves over the marks. Gwen made a small reminder to look at Sans’ wrists when he was brought back in.

“Where were you when Papyrus Font was murdered?” Gwen asked.

“Chained to the godd*mn wall,” Red said, waving around his wrists with annoyance. “D*mn, I thought you were a detective.”

Out of the suspects, he was the middle most suspicious. The first was Sans, who was covered in blood from the attack. He had been close enough to be covered in blood, which could mean he was the murderer. Red came next in the suspicion, as he looked like the violent type. The last suspect seemed the most innocent, but he could possibly be the murderer. It was just unlikely.

“So you were constrained when he was murdered?” Gwen clarified.

“No sh*t.”

Red gave her a look like she was an idiot. Gwen returned it.

“Did you see who did it?”

“No, I was f*cking chained to the wall.”

“Constraints don’t affect visibility, unless you were blindfolded. Were you blindfolded?”

“No. Didn’t see it, though.”

This wasn’t going to go anywhere, either. Red likely witnessed the murder, like Sans, but wasn’t going to say anything to protect the murderer. Just like Sans. He might even be the murderer, and might be lying to protect himself. It would explain why he was mad Sans had spoken at all.

“I’m assuming you were kidnapped as well, then, by Papyrus,” Gwen said, “And that he had rented the house to keep you and the other two suspects as hostages without any interference. Sans had also previously mentioned a first location, a first house. Did he kidnap you three there originally?”

“Yeah, he wanted us to all be ‘the best brothers’ in that dump. It was terrible, house was old, he didn’t even bother to hide the godd*mn bloodstains.”

“The bloodstains?”

“Yeah,” Red said, leaning against his hand. “Where I’m from, us f*ckers at least sweep aside the dust. But no, that other Papyrus didn’t even notice the goshdarn bloodstain near the stairs, f*cking moron. Too busy prepping us up for his weird fantasies for his stupid obsession.”

“What do you mean?” Gwen asked.

“Oh, don’t you know?”

Red leaned forward towards her, grin stretching out.

“The guy yer trying to get ‘justice’ for is a bloody murderer, just like me.”


	5. Chapter 4 - L.O.V.E Scans

This case just kept getting new details thrown it, it was starting to become annoying.

Cars continued to drive past Gwen’s house, occasionally lighting up her vast front lawn. Gwen looked out the front windows of her living room, which had made up the entire front wall. The large designer vase sparkled under the light everytime they passed. The expensive paintings upon the wall practically glowed whenever a headlight would dance across it.

That was the result of her years and years of being a cop, she had everything she ever needed for protecting people. A large, expensive designer house. Expensive items. The best security system. 

She sat in the large kitchen, Gwen leaning against her hand as her dinner went cold to the side, forgotten by the woman. Instead, she had pulled out the files, Computer in hand as she continued to write the email.

It was confirmed, the L.O.V.E scan had been finished. Red had his soul scanned by the police department, and his statement was true. He had killed before.

His L.O.V.E was at seven.

That was one of the highest levels Gwen had ever seen. Only one serial killer had passed that, but barely. How had he never been caught until now? Who were his other victims?

Their L.O.V.E scanning machine was a technical marvel, really. Gwen had the report sent to her before she had printed it out, adding it to her folder. Slowly, her case folder was getting new information. She liked that.

_*Sans, also called Red_

_*LV 7_

_*1 ATK 1 DEF_

_*The most difficult enemy_

_*Only did what he was raised to do_

The machine wasn’t used often, as it took an hour to produce results, and it could only come into use if the suspect had killed enough people to gain more LV. Thus, it was only really useful on serial killer cases. A single murder won’t raise one’s LV, like this case. A single pile of dust.

It was confirmed. Red was a filthy killer, just like he said.

That had made Gwen work frantically that day, unable to question the third suspect as she had to get this issue cleared up.

Just because Red had enough LV didn’t mean he would automatically get executed, not when he was still involved in this case. If they dove in too early and killed him now, they could be letting the murderer of Papyrus Font go. After all, all three of the skeletons were in that room. Just because Red was already a murderer didn’t mean he was automatically the murderer of Papyrus, they didn’t have enough evidence or testimony yet.

They already had a procedure for this, thankfully. If a murderer was discovered during a case, but wasn’t tied in with the current murder, they would be kept alive for questioning. They would never let a sinner go, no, so he would be executed once they found out who killed Papyrus Font. It might be him, but then again, it might not.

Gwen might not be getting one, but who murderers from this case. That was good. She was saving the world, sending sinners back down to hell.

This was already getting so much more complicated just from this. First Sans claims to be from a different universe, than Red was a killer… Which did nothing to help with the current case. She hadn’t even got to question the third suspect!

What she knew about the case was minimal at best. Papyrus Font was found dead in his house, a house that was a distance away, which meant the murderer had to be on sight. Which meant it was one of the three suspects. They had used a knife, and had stabbed the man in the back. Sans was likely the closest, as he was covered in the blood of the victim. The police had arrived to find all three skeletons standing in the room, who all had surrendered.

While they had the L.O.V.E machine up and running, they had done scans of everyone else, including the dust of the victim. It was a really helpful machine when it came to cases like this one, really.

Did Gwen think Red did it? Maybe, he was the most likely judging by how he already had killed people. But that didn’t confirm him. Sans was covered in blood and had been kidnapped, he could have snapped and tried to kill him. Or it could have been the third suspect, the one she hadn’t managed to question yet.

The cop looked down at Sans’ scan, sighing to herself. His only made it more confusing.

_*Sans_

_*LV 1_

_*1 ATK 1 DEF_

_*The most easiest enemy_

_*Knows more than he’s telling you_

Gwen really wished she could just be told who killed Papyrus with the scan, but it didn’t work that way. Checking people only gave cryptic information, and the stats never changed after the first check. Not unless something major changed, and overall it wouldn’t be worth their time to continuously scan the three with their fingers crossed for a change.

And Gwen already knew Sans wasn’t telling her everything, that part was obvious. And if he did kill Papyrus, it wouldn’t show in the scan, not unless he had killed more people previously in order to increase his L.O.V.E.

But Papyrus’ scan was the most confusing out of them all.

Red had been right, again. Papyrus had also killed people.

_*Papyrus_

_*LV 12_

_*20 ATK 8 DEF_

_*Loves all versions of Sans very, very much_

_*He never would have suspected that particular Sans to kill him_

Twelve. He was at twelve.

That was worse that Red, that was the highest Gwen had ever had the misfortune to look at. It was…

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.

No wonder he must have kidnapped them, they were probably his next victims. His scan had made her head spin, Gwen plopping her face into the counter with a pained groan. So, his murderer was one of them, a ‘Sans’. And he never expected _that_ certain Sans to kill him.

But why was Red also named Sans? Why did it say Papyrus loved “all versions” of Sans? How had he killed so many people, but was never caught? If that many people were murdered, the entire government would have went on a hunt for the killer!

As if to make her day worse, right at that moment, Gwen’s phone had rang, causing her to sit up and see the caller. Cooper.

“Yeah?” She asked, rubbing her green eyes as she stared back down at the papers, empty house practically echoing her voice.

“ _Um, so…_ ” Cooper said awkwardly, “ _You uh, you know how that guy was talking about other universes?_ ”

“Yeah,” Gwen said again, voice bored and tired.

“ _Well, he was right. They’re, uh, they’re real._ ”

That sentence seemed to spark life inside of Gwen, causing her to practically jump up like a balloon being inflated.

“What?” She asked.

“ _The device, it’s a universe transporter. It won’t work, but I managed to fix it enough to tell what it does. I’ll have to wait for a few parts to come in the mail, but somehow, someone managed to build a working universe transporter. I mean, it’s real. What the suspect had said, he wasn’t lying. He’s not from our universe._ ”


	6. Chapter 5 - The Third Suspect

Oddly, Gwen was calm. Maybe it wad due to having dealt with the most insane killers of them all, having solved the most difficult cases. Whenever there was a case that needed a brilliant detective, Gwen was who they called. That’s why this case was given to her.

Though, it did make sense. Skeletons had went extinct in their world, so it was rather curious to how four randomly popped up. And it explained what Sans had been talking about, and why Red had been upset he told. None of them were from this universe.

It also explained to why they all looked the same, to why all of their names were Sans. And why it said Papyrus loved all versions of Sans. This all made sense, it connected together. Why Sans said that wasn’t his Papyrus.

The third and final Sans, the final suspect.

Even with the new information, entering the room still was shocking as ever. Not only did the unreasonably cold air hit her despite having turned up the heat, but the sight.

Why was there a collar on his neck?

The other two suspects had been wearing hoodies, so their necks had been hidden under the fluff. Not this skeleton. His neck was out for her to see, displaying a thick collar tightly encased around his neck with the bright word ‘Papyrus’ embedded on the brown material.

_*Sans, also called Blue_

_*LV 1_

_*20 ATK 8 DEF_

_*A decent, honorable fighter_

_*Wished he had stood up to Papyrus sooner_

“Hello, my name is detective Gwen, I’ll be working on your case,” Gwen had told him.

“Uh, I’m… I’m Blue,” The skeleton said hesitantly, “That’s what people call me.”

“I am aware, yes.”

She let her eyes collect in his appearance, green eyes wondering about. His wrists matched Red’s own, markings from chains evident. She would definitely have to check Sans’ wrists later, since he likely had those same markings.

“Is Sans alright?” Blue suddenly blurted out, cutting through the silence.

“What?” Gwen asked.

“When I was brought in here, the Officer was really rough, I just wanted to make sure Sans’ foot was fine,” Blue said, “I know it hurts when he walks on it. He needed help walking before.”

“His foot?”

Gwen hadn’t seen his foot, or even the lower half of his body. Whenever she entered the interrogation room, the suspects would always be sitting and waiting for her. Then she would always leave before they did, so she never watched them walk.

“His foot is injured, I was hoping if uh… you know, he was getting medical attention? Mweh…”

The ‘mweh’ he said sounded more like a throw away line to try and stay positive, not anything else. Blue clearly was trying to stay hopeful, even though he was in jail. And Blue was concerning himself for the health of his friend.

But they didn’t give that type of care to people, not to murder suspects. That wasn’t what the police did, not in her world.

“Don’t worry about it-”

“Don’t worry about it?” Blue snapped.

She had not expected that, Gwen snapping her head up from his file with surprise. When he had spoken softly, she had assumed he was a mushy pushover. Red had been surprised Sans was the one to out their origins of a different universe, he likely had assumed it was Blue.

“He’s my friend, and he’s injured! Of course I’m going to worry about it! It was my fault he hurt his foot, that he broke it!” Blue said, tapping his chest.

Gwen followed his hand, noticing the odd way he had tapped his chest. His hand looked bent to the side, and his movements looked pained, slowed. Not broken, maybe twisted funny. It likely only stung, really, which was why Blue was ignoring it. The wound didn’t even look new, it looked to be a day old.

“How exactly is it your fault?” Gwen asked.

Blue fell silent, leaving her to sigh. Just when she got a few more answers, a new question would always replace an old one.

“So, you were kidnapped by Papyrus with the two other Sanses, Red and Sans, correct?” Gwen asked.

“Yes,” Blue answered honestly.

“Did you kill Papyrus Font?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Blue answered. “No, I didn’t.”

So all of them were pleading innocent. Frankly, she had expected that. Why would a murderer plead guilty? They were a sinner, and sinners constantly lied and deceived others. That’s what Gwen was for, to weed out the sinners and send them to where they belonged.

But now there was a doubt, a tiny whisper, in the back of her mind. Her gut coiled with that whisper, agreeing to bring it to the light of her conscious thoughts.

They weren’t from her world. They weren’t born here, raised here. They were born in different worlds, with different rules and people. Did Gwen have any right to even question them, to judge them?

No, no. Sinners were born sinners, killers were born killers. Red would be sent to his death for murder from his universe, and whoever killed Papyrus would be following. Unless Red was the one to kill Papyrus, then it would be only him.

“I know that you’re from a different universe, as were the other two in your group, and I’m assuming Papyrus too,” Gwen said, “Is that right?”

“Yeah,” Blue said, nodding softly. “Sorry about the cold air, I know it’s cold in whatever room we’re in. It’s because we’re from another universe, and since we don’t belong here, the air gets colder. Someone had explained it to me before, but I was sort of distracted at the time. Sorry.”

Oh, so that was the cause of the cold air? Gwen would admit it was colder than normal, and she had checked the heater before entering, making darn sure it would be warm this time. She made a note to herself to ask Cooper about it later, writing it down. She didn’t understand how that worked, but then again, she didn’t even understand the weird machine when Cooper had explained it to her. Maybe he would understand this.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Gwen said, “But why do you guys call yourself that? Like Blue and Red, but Sans is still called Sans. You all are named Sans, right?”

“Yeah, I’m Sans, and so are the others,” Blue said, “But you know, it gets really confusing when we’re all named Sans, so we decided to give some of us nicknames. Sans got to be Sans because he was there first, Red became Red because of his sweater and I got Blue because of my bandanna, which I don’t have anymore.”

“What happened to your bandanna?” Gwen asked.

“Papyrus had taken it away, I was the only one who wore a bandanna. He said it got in the way of his collar.”

The skeleton thumbed at the leather object, gently pulling at it with disdain for the symbol it created.

The skeleton had kidnapped three of the same person from different universes, had marked them with collars, chained them to a wall, and his check had said he loved all versions of Sans very, very much.

That was pretty concerning.

“He was obsessed with you, wasn’t he?” Gwen asked, “That’s why he went to different universes, to get multiple Sanses?”

Blue nodded, giving her a small glance. “He said he loved us. I believed it at first, I really did. I thought he was just showing his love wrong.”

“But what happened?”

His gaze was serious as he looked up at her, yanking at the collar with a firm tug. “That wasn’t love. It was obsession.”


	7. Chapter 6 - The Second Kidnapping

“You have a brother named Papyrus, then?”

Blue seemed to be the most corporative out of the three, so asking him was her best options to get a fair understanding of how exactly this situation came to be. Gwen had to understand how they got to her universe before she could find out how he got to the house, then find out how the situation with the knife even happened. It was obvious all three of these skeletons had become partners in crime, the murderer having convinced the other two to keep quiet. If she could get one of them to open up by finding out how this all happened, she could continue to solve this case.

But her gut coiled lightly. Something felt off about that. Why would they end up in this universe, why would that skeleton kidnap them?

“Yeah, we all do.”

If they all had brothers named Papyrus from their own universes, then the victim Papyrus should have had his own Sans.

Why would he go around kidnapping other Sanses if he _had_ his own Sans?

Was it simply out of obsession to collect all of them from different universes? But then why would he only have three? And why wasn’t his Sans with the others?

“How exactly did he kidnap you?” Gwen asked.

Blue looked to the side, sighing gently. The memory wasn’t a good one, it seemed. But were any of them?

“I had arrived home from training to find my brother!” Blue had said, “I thought Papyrus was well, my Papyrus. But when I had gotten a message from my real brother…”

~~~~~~

_The house was cold, which was rather odd. Snowdin had the best heaters in all of the Underground, as it was located in the coldest climate. Of course the residents would work their hats off to get the best heating, advancing the technology to its limits. So why was his house so cold!_

_Nothing the Magnificent Blue couldn’t fix!_

_Blue had been pressing up on the thermostat, aware of his brothers gaze on his side. It was nothing new, not like this cold air that hung in the living room, right where the lazy bones was seated. What was new was the intensity of the gaze. Papyrus did look up to Blue, even if he was shorter. It wasn’t new to find his brother looking at him with admiration, glad he had such the coolest brother in the world._

_But this gaze was different. Intense, focused in as if Blue was the only interesting thing in the room. And perhaps, he was the most interesting thing in the room for the other._

_“Mweh heh, there we go!” Blue had said, clapping his hands together. “The Magnificent brother of yours has turned up the heat!”_

_“Of course,” Papyrus had hummed out, not removing his gaze from him._

_That was the first warning sign that Blue had been too oblivious to notice. Anyone else would have noticed the sound of his voice was obviously different, as if Blue would try to replicate his brothers low toned voice. And what he said wasn’t like Papyrus speaking, it was like someone else trying to speak like him. Trying to act lazy and disinterested._

_What Blue did notice was the change in temperature, almost causing him to stumble on the stairs when he had gotten further from Papyrus. Skeletons could sense change, and while they weren’t affected due to their lack of skin, Blue did have to retain a warm house for any visitors who had the misfortune of having skin._

_It was as if he had broken through a barrier, warmth suddenly smacking him in the face. It was rather disorianating, causing him to briefly lose his footing. Why was it suddenly warm up one stair higher?_

_Only when he received the text message had Blue finally pieced together the clues, staring down at his phone with shaking hands in his room._

_‘Sry for being late bro, onw home now’_

_Which didn’t make sense, as he was already home. He was downstairs, wasn’t he?_

_There was a startling amount of unease building in his body, bones clattering softly against the screen of his phone. Why did he suddenly feel so caught off guard, so scared?_

_Only when he felt himself shiver did Blue realize, his body having unconsciously connected the pieces together before he had realized._

_The room had become extremely colder in the last second._

~~~~~~

“I guess I had known something was off when I had walked in and saw him, that there was just something, just a tiny little thing wrong with him,” Blue admitted, fingers connecting his hands together.

“He had posed as your brother to get close to you?” Gwen asked.

“Yes, he had,” Blue said, “I was the second one to be kidnapped. Sans had been kidnapped before me.”

“Do you remember what it was like? Where you had been taken to?” Gwen asked.

“Yeah, I can answer that,” Blue had said, “But it wasn’t this universe. Papyrus had taken us here because, uh... The first house was always cold. Us three didn’t belong there, so we always made it cold.”

Blue looked like a child who had almost said a bad word in front of their parent, retreating back into his chair. Obviously, whatever happened at the first house was not fun for him.

“So, when you woke up, Sans was already there?” Gwen asked, “And then Red was brought in?”

“Mhm.”

Okay, this was progress for Gwen. She had a start of the timeline going. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing. Blue wasn’t being fully cooperative, it was obvious he shut himself down whenever he almost said something he didn’t want to say. If anyone was going to crack first, it would be him.

“Do you know what happened to the victims brother, that universes Sans?” Gwen asked.

It was almost like she had just set off a bomb in front of him, his reaction was rather fierce. Blue’s eye sockets went wide, his body jerking backwards as his hands went up to pry at his face, as if trying to tear the memories of this event right out of his body, never to be remembered again.

“No no no no no-”

Now he was ranting, whatever she had made him remember obviously not the right move to do.

“No, wait, it’s fine-” Gwen had tried to say.

“No no no no no no no-”

The no’s continued, Blue starting to pull at his collar like it was on fire.

What happened to the victims brother? Was it so bad that Blue was freaking out just remembering?

Or did her asking that question a different memory, one that he had suppressed before?

Either way, even after she managed to calm Blue down, it was pointless. The poor, abused skeleton simply sunk back into his chair, shaking his head whenever she tried to ask a question. Gwen felt a surge of pity and regret climb within her soul before she shoved those emotions down, trying to ignore the way the skeleton looked. He didn’t look like a murderer, he looked like a victim.

If he was the murderer, she couldn’t be acting that way around him. That would mean she was giving a sinner pity, she couldn’t be doing that.

“Look, Blue,” Gwen said, adjusting the folders. “I need to find out who murdered Papyrus, and-”

“I don’t care!” Blue suddenly snapped, “He deserved it, and I’m glad he’s dead! He hurt us, he tortured us, he played with our emotions and pretended like it never happened! If he wasn’t dead, we would have ended up like his brother!”

The outburst was sudden. Blue was obviously the most emotionally unstable of the group, and she could see why. He was an optimist, he must have tried to look on the bright side of his situation the entire time. All of them were coping with their emotions differently from this. Sans was reclusive and didn’t answer anything. Red lashed out and made an act to hide behind. Blue felt betrayed, and while he did want to be nice, he didn’t want to help Gwen find the murderer. In the end, their goals were the same. Protect each other, and have no one talk about who committed the crime.

Gwen decided not to make Blue break down again, repressing her need to ask exactly what happened to his brother, and why Blue was so afraid of ending up like the brother of the victim.

No wonder they made names for each other, all of these Sanses and Papyruses was getting confusing real quick.

“Thank you for your time, you’ve been helpful,” Gwen said, closing her files. “I’ll send you back so you can calm down.”

~~~~~~

Even with the emotionally breakdown, Blue had been helpful. Now she knew how they had all been kidnapped, Papyrus had posed as their brothers and simply struck when their guard was down. Not only that, she knew how this all began. It was a good start.

Cooper watched Blue be escorted out of the room, his coffee forgotten in hand.

“Uh, you going to drink your coffee?” Gwen asked him.

“I- yeah, yeah,” Cooper muttered softly, turning away when Blue was taken out.

“You doing alright?”

The monster sat down across from her, slumping against the table like a useless bag. His face looked strained, eyes wondering gently.

“I don’t think Blue did it,” Cooper said, stirring his coffee absentmindedly.

Gwen paused her movements, looking at him. “Why not?”

“He just looks so… nevermind.”

This wasn’t the first case Gwen had where the murderer had played like a victim. She could remember her gut screaming at her that case, every fiber of her being yelling against her turning in that file. It was like deja vu, the feeling replicating itself, but more quietly. Waiting to build up, waiting to strike her.

She wouldn’t admit she saw those files in her sleep, and she wouldn’t admit to anyone that she felt the guilt of that previous case from so long ago having set within her. Not when so many had clapped. Not when they had looked at her like that.

Gwen could tell him the same words her previous partner had told her. That a murderer was a sinner though and through, that the pity they tried to bestow was a lie. Just like their training had told them, just like they had been taught by their government. A sinner was a sinner, the moment they committed a murder, they lost that piece of their soul that connected them to their humanity. They were no better than possessed bodies, demons using it to enact more sins on the world.

The person from that case, so long ago, was a sinner. She had sent them to their death, she had been rewarded for it.

So why, whenever she remembered that case, she felt wrong?

No, no. Gwen was the savior, this was her job. She was going to find the filthy murderer from these three, and send them back to hell. It didn’t matter what Papyrus had done, it didn’t matter how pitiful Blue had looked. If he was a murderer, he wasn’t a person. He was a corrupted soul, one which had to be sent down to hell. If he was the murderer.

Or, he could just be worried for his friends. They all had motive, they all had evidence. Sans was covered in blood. Red was a previous killer. Blue hated Papyrus and wished him dead. They all had evidence, all had motive.

They were all a part of the crime, hiding the suspect, the murderer. A sinner was among them, and Gwen was going to weed them out.

Even if it was the last thing she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, basically the government in this world is really screwed up. After the war religion became a bit too important and it just spiraled out of control to the point where killers are considered to be working with the devil and have to be killed, and anyone who does that is like a saint. They've all been raised to believe that, but when you work with a bunch of killers, sometimes certain cases can cause doubts.
> 
> The Government just conditions people into believing this is true by rewards. You follow their rules and kill a 'sinner', you get a nicer house, lots of money, so you're rewarded for following them. The Government is composed of people who also believe in what they tell, so they're convinced they're rewarding saints for doings gods work pretty much. Everyone was raised to the system, so they all believe it. It's a really messed up system where a primary religion takes priority of the government and it just spirals out of control. It doesn't help that the killers are also conditioned to believe this, so they just affirm the beliefs of everyone else when they do admit to being a killer because they actually believe they had been tainted by the devil and don't deserve forgiveness, due to how they've grown up. 
> 
> And people who do start to have small doubts have been taught to basically beat them down and pretend they never had thought about it. So when Gwen and Cooper had previous, small doubts in the past, they shoved them down and went on with their jobs truly thinking they're doing the right thing.
> 
> But what happens when people from different backgrounds who weren't raised this way get thrown into their lives?
> 
> Well, doubts are going to be hitting the two harder, that's for sure.


	8. Chapter 7 - Limp

_There was so many bad things about Sans’ situation when he had woken up._

_The first was the chain stationed around his ankle, the way it dug into his bones. It left marks on his right leg. There was a little makeshift padding, but overall it proved useless. The chain let Sans move around the room. And he could see through the windows._

_Into the sky. That he wasn’t supposed to be able to see._

_Monsters never made it to the surface, yet there he was, on the surface! Sans could see the sky, he could see the starts twinkle above. So close, yet so far. Whenever he would reach out, his hand would meet nothing but cold glass, reminding him of his new prison._

_From one prison to the next. Trapped underground, to being trapped on the surface._

_At least underground, he had others. He had a large place to roam, an amazing brother, and the idea of the surface lingering with the last soul. It was nice, not perfect, but alright. He liked it._

_The room he was trapped in was a mocking of the perfect life Sans had always wanted. It was painfully mocking. The surface was so close, just on the other side of that window, but Sans couldn’t reach it. His brother was there, but that wasn’t his Papyrus. No, it was a fake, a different Papyrus. One that didn’t belong to him, who would come in cheery with a plate and things to talk about. Papyrus, the fake one, talked to Sans like he didn’t kidnap him. Like he didn’t sometimes draw too close, like he didn’t stare at Sans with that creepy look._

_The others shortly followed. Red was the one who objected to the magical constraints the most, constantly tugging at the metal band around his vertebrae. Blue was the one who tried to convince Papyrus, who tried to talk him down. When their kidnapper finally did leave, Blue would tell the other skeletons that it was alright, Papyrus was their brother, even if he was from another universe. He would free them._

_At first, it truly sounded like Blue believed it. After awhile, it sounded like Blue was trying to convince himself._

_Sans could see the thick grass outside, and the dense trees. They all could. They could also see the outside of the log cabin they were trapped inside of. And they all could see the clear glint of a trap laying in the grass._

_They wouldn’t be getting out easily. Especially with Papyrus watching them like there was nothing else important in the world._

~~~~~~

“Bear traps out in the grass?” Gwen had questioned Sans.

“He was obsessed with us,” Sans admitted, shifting slightly. “He told us it was to protect us, but I know it wasn’t. He just wanted to scare us into staying inside so we couldn’t run.”

“If he loved you, that seems pretty dangerous to put you inside that situation,” Gwen pointed out, “You could have bled out, or dusted. Why would Papyrus have done that if he loved you so much?”

“Skeletons can’t die from blood loss, we have to sustain enough injury,” Sans explained helpfully, “Which is why a foot injury is the best way to slow us down without the possibility of killing us. We wouldn’t be able to walk properly, we’d be hurt, and we’d leave a trail of blood. That’s why bear traps were used, he knew if we stepped on one trying to get out, it was game over.”

“Is that how you got your limp?”

Gwen had followed Blue’s advice and watched Sans walk in, surprised to find that the skeleton was limping. Now that he had a change of clothes, she could see the collar around his neck, and she could see his bandaged foot and ankle. There was a lot of bandages used, he must have messed up his foot really bad. Especially with how he limped, he practically was leaning against the other officer to keep himself up. It looked painful, the way his face scrunched up with each step.

Could Sans even commit a murder in that state?

Sans didn’t respond to her question, shifting his injured foot. Was it from trying to escape, or was it from something else?

Perhaps he got that injury from the murder, from killing his other brother.

“Moving on,” Gwen said, “Can you describe what the original house was like, please?”

“I… It was a log cabin, like I said,” Sans explained, “We were surrounded by the forest, somewhere on the surface. Monsters had been trapped underground, so uh, I’m not really sure how I got there. Not at first, none of us did.”

“I’m guessing by the universe transporter, by Papyrus?”

“How did you-”

“My partner found the device, he figured out what it was. He’s good with technology, he’s been trying to fix it.”

“You guys are going to fix it?” Sans asked hopefully, perking up with the first hint of happiness in his face. “I could- We could all go back to our universes!”

“I’m afraid not,” Gwen said honestly, “Red won’t be returning, he’ll be executed due to his L.O.V.E. And whoever killed Papyrus will also be executed. However…”

This could be it, this could be leverage. This could give Gwen the answers she needed!

It was obvious Sans cared for his real brother, the one he had been taken from. His eye sockets practically sparkled from joy at the idea of returning home, his uninjured leg bouncing with anticipation. Maybe Gwen could use this to her advantage.

“You could return,” Gwen said, “You could go home, to your own universe. But I can’t let you go until this case is over. If you told me who did it, I could help you go home.”

Part of that was a lie. If Sans was the killer, he would be executed, just like Red. But if he wasn’t, he might tell her. He might confess, sell out another version of himself to see his friends again.

But, he didn’t.

“Nah, this universe is fine,” Sans muttered, sinking back into his chair with his arms crossed. “The cell is pretty cool, and I am rocking these prisoner clothes. I think I’ll stay here.”

Even though she didn’t get the answer she wanted, Gwen somehow felt a surge of relief flood through her. Her gut was right.

Sans was a good person. He would stand by his friends, protect them, even at the cost of never returning to his universe.

Or at the cost of killing another.

~~~~~~

_“GOOD MORNING!”_

_Sans let out a groan at hearing that voice, lightly banging his skull against the wall. He hated it. He hated how much Papyrus sounded like his own, how happy and cheerful he always sounded._

_But he also hated it when Papyrus would switch to that darker tone, the low, threating voice when he didn’t like whatever his Sans harem was doing. It was rare, as the skeleton often found more amusement in their struggles then anger._

_It was terrifying. Especially since he couldn’t use magic._

_Sans would scamper away like a scared puppy, unable to do anything more as that god awful spaghetti would be brought out. That’s all he ever had. For breakfast, lunch, dinner. Papyrus’ awful cooking, forced down into his body._

_“AW, YOU LOOK SO ADORABLE!”_ _  
_

_Sans hated that. He hated that tone, or those obsessive eye sockets bearing into him. He wanted to do nothing more but to run, run so far that he somehow found his way back home, to his Papyrus. To his real brother._

_“I BROUGHT YOU BREAKFAST!”_

_Sans could smell it as soon as he walked in. It was disgusting. When his Papyrus made it, his love for not just Sans, but everyone could be tasted in the cooking. Sure, it still was pretty bad, but his intentions were clear. He just wanted to make everyone happy._

_“AW, COME ON SILLY BONES!”_

_Sans was always the first fed. Papyrus was obsessed with him the most out of the group, everyone could tell. Why? He wasn’t sure. Not in the beginning._

_When he first tried feeding Sans in the morning, it was always the same. He would gently twist his homemade disaster onto a fork and hold it out for Sans, expecting the skeleton to eat. Yet Sans would always twist away, hating this every time it happened. He didn’t want to eat. Let him starve!_

_Suddenly, there was sharp fingers grasping at his jaw, prying open his teeth. Sans jerked under the sudden movements, not expecting this. Papyrus sat next to him, his red gloved fingers continuing to press open his now aching jaw as the awful food was shoved down his throat._

_“Eat it,” Papyrus hissed, eye sockets growing darker._

_In the corner, Sans could hear Red stifle his own cry from hearing that voice._


	9. Chapter 8 - The Thud

_Red was used to chains. He was used to the feeling of a collar, of his wrists being tied. From his universe, this was nothing new. Nor was the sight of blood on the floor, hidden away by the rug in their room. He wasn’t dumb, he knew to check for anything the moment he woke up._

_By far, he hated Blue the most when he first woke up. The guy just didn’t get a grip on what was going on, did he? Not at first. He was always claiming people could be good, that they should give this Papyrus a second chance._

_That’s the problem. They gave him a second chance. Yet Papyrus kept them locked up, despite their begging._

_Really, Red wasn’t helping much. All of his life, he was trained to obey Papyrus, protect and serve Boss at all costs. That was what he was taught._

_And that was why he couldn’t do it. Years of training taught him never to go against Papyrus, but no one ever anticipated there being more than one._

_That was why is was so stupidly easy to kidnap Red. The creepy Papyrus didn’t look like his own, and he didn’t have to. The moment Red saw him, his training kicked in. Confusion had settled in, and his soul was in a turmoil of pain and confusion. That wasn’t his Papyrus, but he was still Papyrus!_

_Red hated himself for that. For letting this fake walk up, for panicking. But he couldn’t help it! He was trained to obey for years, he suddenly couldn’t go against it._

_Sobbing was how he often found himself. Funny, living in the kill or be killed world didn’t make him as tough as he would have thought. Sure, he was tough physically, the scars showed it. Red could handle pain, he could handle being chained to the wall, he could handle having that dumb new collar around his neck. Hell, he could even handle the awful food._

_What Red couldn’t deal with was Papyrus himself. The way he would scoop Red up into a hug like he actually cared, and maybe he did. But he cared too much. The guy was demented, a freak. So obsessed with them to the point where he believed they loved him back. He would just sit there and talk to them for hours, Red hated it._

_Red just couldn’t fight back, not when he looked so much like his brother. And the dumb copy knew it! He knew Red was in a constant state of mental pain, constantly wanting to fight back, but finding his arms shaking. So Papyrus would hug him, pet his skull and hum out tunes, while Red would simply just shake._

_Blue was the one who talked most to this new Papyrus. He tried to reason, which obviously didn’t work. Papyrus was too far gone, stuck in his own land. Convinced they all loved him back, when they clearly didn’t._

_Sans was the only one really clear in the head. Red was too emotionally damaged to try and fight back, he was practically just a dumb pet. Not Sans. He knew to stay away from this Papyrus, and he constantly was trying to fight back. Shoving him away, trying to unchain himself. Sans was the one who pointed out the bear traps._

_And of course, Sans was the one who noticed the thud when the others didn’t._

~~~~~~

Gwen had been starting to suspect Red wasn’t the killer. Despite his L.O.V.E, Papyrus’ reading had said he would never anticipate his killer to be the one with the knife. To be the murderer.

Blue and Sans made sense. Neither of them were exactly violent. Blue seemed too nice, and Sans was injured. Both were prime suspects. Red was violent and loud mouthed, with more L.O.V.E than serial killers. It would be expected of him to try and fight back, Papyrus likely would have suspected him first for attacking him, not the other two.

Yet this simply pointed out new information Gwen never had considered. What living in that type of world would have done to Red. He was raised differently than her, they all were. She had to adjust accordingly.

Red wouldn’t have been expected to kill Papyrus, either. He was too broken from where he came from, he was practically fragile. The victim would have never seen it coming from someone emotionally broken. However, he seemed to have returned his mojo back, which meant something happened. Like him finally snapping and killing Papyrus, despite his training.

Which meant he was back as a prime suspect, and she had made no progress. Great.

Frankly, any of the suspects could be the murderer. Gwen had absolutely no idea which one of them had killed him, her gut wasn’t helping with it either. She didn’t have enough of the story yet.

Gwne suddenly snapped her eyes back to Red’s face, ignoring the chill from the cold room.

“The thud?” She asked.

Red averted his eyelights, voice dying down.

“Well, uh… yer ain’t gonna like this…” Red muttered.

“What did you mean, by the thud?” Gwen clicked her pen.

Red shifted in his seat, avoiding eye contact with her until the very end. Only when he did finally look at her did he confess.

“It was how he got the machine, how he traveled to our universes,” Red explained, “He… he had a hostage.”

“A hostage?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Red said, leaning against the table. “It seriously doesn’t. She ain’t alive anymore, she died before we even moved to the new universe, so it doesn’t matter.”

“If it doesn’t matter,” Gwen shuffled aside some papers, “Then you should have no problem telling me about her.”

There was a moment of hesitation on Red’s part, and Gwen hoped he wouldn’t remain silent. She needed to understand how they arrived here so she could figure out who killed him. Red has been pretty shut in about all of this, and she needed his testimony as well.

“There was this girl, Alphys,” Red said, looking annoyed with himself for talking to her. “She was a scientist. Real brilliant, ya know, good with technology and souls and crap like that. The Alphys girl was from his universe, so she knew about him. Apparently he had been killing far before we even got there, so she knew not to do anything for him. And Paps knew that too, f*cking creepy a*s was good with playing people like a fiddle. So he kidnapped her girlfriend and used her for blackmail. Her name was Undyne, she was the hostage.”

~~~~~~

_“I heard something!”_

_It was one of the few times of the day Papyrus really left them alone. Red had been left alone to his thoughts when Sans had pointed it out._

_The trapped skeletons all then heard it again, each scrambling to press their skulls against the floor. Faint, but there. They could hear a muffled Papyrus yelling, then another thud, but they sounded so small they were easily ignorable._

_It wasn’t just different versions of Sans that Papyrus had kidnapped. Someone else was there!_

_That meant they weren’t alone. They had help out there._

_They just had to find it._


	10. Chapter 9 - Undyne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the beginning of the chapter for some Gwen art I did!

The faint sound of shuffling could be heard from Blue, ever so quiet that Gwen almost didn’t hear it. His wrist was looking better, but if he thought she hadn’t noticed it, he was sorely mistaken.

She could remember Cooper’s voice from before she entered the room, he really didn’t belive it was Blue. Was it innocent? Maybe, maybe not. But she didn’t have any definite evidence to narrow down the killer in the slightest. It could be any three. They all were locked up, they all had motive. It could be anyone’s guess, really.

“So Undyne and Alphys?” Gwen asked, “They were also from your universe?”

“Yeah,” Blue explained, “But from my universe they were different, they had swapped personalities. Everyone from my universe did, apparently.”

“So Undyne was the hostage, she had been help captive as well?” Gwen asked. “What happened to cause her death?”

Blue sunk behind the table, averting her gaze. He really didn’t want to help her, did he?

“Blue, you have to talk to me,” Gwen said, “I’m not asking about who killed Papyrus, I’m asking why she died. What happened?”

Another moment of silence. Gwen was about to call it over before Blue finally rose his voice.

“It… it was my fault, I screwed everything up,” Blue admitted quietly, “She had helped us escape, but she… she died because of it. Because of me.”

“How?” Gwen asked.

~~~~~~

_Blue was the only one out of the group who didn’t come to dread the sound of the door opening. Everyone else was afraid, upset, angry over being kidnapped by Papyrus. And sure, while Blue had felt that, he still had hope. Everytime Papyrus opened those doors, it was hope that maybe, just maybe, he would let them out._

_At first, it was like that. After they moved houses, Blue had lost that hope. Papyrus was never going to let them go, not unless he was gone._

_Everyone else had audibly groaned when they heard the footsteps approaching, retreating into their respective corners. It was pretty odd how each corner of the room was taken, but Papyrus didn’t really complain. He never complained, which was rather frightening._

_“I hope he doesn’t f*cking dare try to feed me that sh*t again,” One of the others said._

_Blue barely paid attention to him, looking at the door. Maybe Papyrus came to his senses, and was coming to return them to their home. Not likely, but there was the possibility!_

_Then Blue noticed the way the footsteps were. They were more lighter, more in a rush. Doors could be heard thudding open from time to time, growing closer._

_“I don’t think that’s Papyrus,” Sans had said._

_Sans barely had managed to finish that statement before the door to their room was bursting open, revealing a sight Blue never expected to see. There stood Undyne, her red hair thrown about wildly with a frantic look in her eyes. She soon zoned in of them, blood dribbling down from her right wrist._

_“Undyne?” Everyone asked, perking up._

_“I- Sans? You’re, you…” Undyne whispered, looking at Sans._

_“I’m uh, I’m not from your universe,” Sans said, “We all know the original Sans from this one died.”_

_Blue nodded slowly at the truth. Papyrus had been so dismissive about it when he had told them, as if his brother didn’t die. He had been kept in this same room, he had been kidnapped just like them._

_Papyrus didn’t really bother to hide it from them when Red had found the blood. His brother, the original one from this universe, had said he would go with Papyrus if Papyrus didn’t hurt any of his friends. They had escaped to the surface, Papyrus had taken his brother to this cabin. In the end, the old Sans couldn’t handle it, and dusted himself right where the new Sans, classic Sans, was._

_How long would they be trapped here before they became dust? Before death was the better option?_

_“Listen, I-I don’t have much time to- f*ck,” Undyne muttered, feeling around her pockets before she pulled out a small brass key, stumbling over to Blue. “I know you aren’t my Sans, none of you are, and I’m sorry about all of this. I managed to snag this, you guys can use it to get out. Not now, though. He’s going to be back soon, and-”_

_Undyne stopped at the sound of the front door opening, making her look back with wide eyes._

_“I- What about you Undyne?” Blue asked._

_Just a little too loudly._

_Blue had stayed up countless nights after that, staring at where Undyne had been when she had first escaped. Everyone else had understood, they knew to keep quiet. Undyne could have sneaked out down the hall, she could have tried to get out. Get past the forest. Get help. Be alive._

_How come he didn’t understand?_

_Blue could remember his gross sobbing and screaming as Undyne had been dragged away, the way the chains dug into his foot as he tried to press further than it extended, trying to chase after them._

_Yet all he could do was sit there through the screams and cries of everyone else, clutching the key in his hand as Undyne was dusted in the other room. They could hear it, hear her dust hit the floor. Then Papyrus had returned, not bothering to even wipe the blood or dust off of his body._

_“I’M BACK, YOU SILLY BONES!” Papyrus said, “SORRY ABOUT THAT, SHE’S GONE NOW. IT’S JUST US AGAIN!”_

~~~~~~

Gwen clutched at her papers, avoiding his gaze. Blue stared right back at her, seeming more strong against the memories than Gwen was.

How could he…?

In all of her time being a law enforcing officer, she had never seen this. Never seen anyone so insane. That was what a true murderer looked like, which had only been seen so few times. Blue had been kidnapped by someone like that, and he _lived_.

It was honorable, really. But if he was the murderer, it wouldn’t matter.

For the second time in her life, Gwen didn’t want to send a murderer to the chair, not from this case.

“Billy- I mean, Blue,” She said, “I-”

“Who’s Billy?”

It was almost as if the interrogation had been flipped, the lights now focusing on her from above. Blue watched her, waiting for her response. Gwen felt her soul twist in on itself, trying to hide away with the guilt and shame she constantly suppressed.

“This isn’t- So that was the key to your chains?” Gwen changed the subject, trying to focus on her job.

Emotions were a lie, she was doing her job. She couldn’t become derailed, not now.

If it was Sans or Red on the other side of the table, they probably wouldn’t have dropped it. They would have continued to press on, they were like that. Thankfully, Blue was nicer than them, and was a bit of a pushover. He believed Papyrus could of been a good person, he had no strength compared to the other-

“You called me Billy,” Blue repeated, “Who is Billy?”

Gwen stared at him for a moment, her green eyes wavering slightly. The memories were harshly brought up without her consent, one after one pelting her soul until she was standing up.

“Enough questions,” Gwen said.

“What?” Blue asked, “Where are you?”

“Enough questions, we’re done,” Gwen said stubbornly, quickly retreating out of the cold room.

This time, it was Blue who stayed strong, and Gwen who had cracked down under the pressure of this case, running away into the dark hallway. 


	11. Chapter 10 - Billy

The temple was almost as cold as the interrogation room, but the reason was more grounded in logic than the skeletons reasons. Their lord was a tester, he would test them. Only those would stood strong against his trails could be deemed as saviors, to become above men and women.

That’s what Gwen was considered. A savior, a messenger from God. People parted for her on the streets with smiles for her, everyone knew her. She was of top status, with a large house and large profits. Even if she takes a day off, she still gets paid, not that she ever does.

Yet, despite the way she was treated, Gwen sometimes doubted it. God never gave her any messages. She did what she was told by the law, and by the bible given to them.

The female gingerly peeled back the thick cover, holding the small book within her hands. It was no longer than a few pages, detailing sinners against saints, how obeying God would grant you superiority above others. The savior back then had written it, claiming that God himself had told him the words.

Gwen didn’t feel like a savior. Sure, she did put so many murderers to the chair, some even serial killers. She’s saved hundreds, thousands. Everyone praises her, yet…

“God,” The black haired woman spoke, kneeling down at the alter of her lord, clutching the cross within her hand. “Please, I need your help on this case.”

Gwen always asked for help on cases, and everytime, it was genuine. And real. Gwen never wanted to trip up, to place the wrong person in the chair, to deem them for death when they were still a person.

The pews around her were bare, empty of the usual people. It was far too late for anyone to be here, only saviors like herself were deemed to pass within the church whenever necessary.

Everything was supposed to be simple. When a person would kill another, they would become a sinner, period. Only saviors sent from their lord could erase the demons that had claimed their soul, taking away their life before they could spread the disease. She would then get praised, and move onto the next case when it appeared.

That was it, what her purpose was. Before, she never questioned it.

Well, once. Once, before, did she question it on a case. The case was her first, really, and she had long buried that beneath layers of memories, never to resurface again. Until Blue decided to push, and for them to remind her of Billy.

How long has it been since she heard that name? Years?

The same still felt tainted and wrong, she hated it. She hated the way it reminded her of her conflicting emotions, how much she had wanted to go against god. She hated it.

It was Satin, they had said. It was sin, trying to tempt her. She had to resist, they had claimed. Fight back, ignore those emotions. So she did.

Gwen pulled out the necklace cross she had from around her neck, holding it so gently as she placed back down the bible. It was supposed to be simple, she wasn’t supposed to question everything.

If that boy was really a sinner, she had done the right thing. But…

Her green eyes trailed down to the cross in her hand. _Ignore it_. God knew what was best, so did everyone else. They all knew he was a sinner, no matter how young. So why couldn’t Gwen remember, why had she decided to block it out all this time?

Because it hurt. Because it made her confused, and scared. It made Gwen feel small, and it made her question everything she was raised to believe. Much like how these skeletons were, how their case was.

Why couldn’t it just be easy? Gwen didn’t like the feeling, the way it bubbled up her back, much like a slow rising tide. She was raised one way, yet felt like it was wrong. Like her entire world was wrong.

She would do the same for this case, wouldn’t she? Once she was done, she would bury it, just like that boys face, much like the other trial.

“God, I…” Gwen trailed off.

She could do that, it would be easy. Retreat back into the simplicity of her life, accept everything without questioning it. Surely this was the lord testing her, right now. To see if she was willing to catch the sinners or not.

“I…”

But she couldn’t get their faces out of her head, how different they all were. None of those skeletons were raised here, none of them really understood what was going on. They were kidnapped to another universe, scared and alone, with no hopes of escaping.

“God…”

There was another way. There always was another way, it was what Gwen believed in. No one ever had to resort to murder, they could have gotten out. Blue had gotten the key, surely he would have used it!

But it led to the death of Undyne, and she had a feeling he already tried to use it.

Gwen closed her eyes, standing up from her knees. She wouldn’t kneel, not tonight.

The string was torn from around her neck before she was dropping the symbol of their god, the image they had tainted throughout the years onto the bible they had specially written for the governments desires on how God would look for them.

“I want to remember,” Gwen said, “I’m not hiding, not anymore.”

Gwen had always prided herself on being strong, but that was far from the truth. She was smart, and clever, but she liked comfort. That’s why she let herself become dumb, let herself be conformed by society. She didn’t like the possibility something was wrong, that she herself could be a bad person.

But looking at Blue, at all of them… She wanted to face that. She wanted the truth, and finally, she was willing to seek it all out. Not like before, she wouldn’t back down.

~~~~~~

_“I-I don’t think I can do this.”_

_Before Cooper was her partner, and before Gwen had earned her title, this had happened. Her first official case, with her first official killer._

_It was an easy case, which was why she was given it. There was a witness to a murder, his Mother. The bruise on her eye and the finger marks on her neck were easy to spot, yet she wasn’t angry with the abuse she had suffered. Instead, she found her anger from that night directed at her little boy._

_“I can’t believe I raised a demon,” She sobbed, “My little boy is a killer!”_

_Gwen had been to naive when she did that case. She blindly obeyed everything her partner, her trainer, had told her. He was old, age getting ahold on him to drag his skin down with wrinkles, making him look like a skinny raisin._

_Billy was the boys name. So small and fragile, much like she was. He never cried, really, despite being such a small child._

_“Is Mommy okay?” He had asked first, not concerning himself with his own future. “Daddy was hurting her.”_

_It was like whiplash, going back and forth between the two. His Mother didn’t care how he had just saved her from abuse, all she could see was a filthy demon that had taken her sons soul and destroyed it. Her partner had leaned over to Gwen behind the glass, his old bones under the stretched skin practically creaking._

_“That boy isn’t a child anymore, he’s a sinner,” He had whispered, “Remember, he’s trying to trick you.”_

_That felt wrong. The whole case felt wrong. He wasn’t trying to plead innocent, he admitted to killing his Father to protect his Mother. His Mother screamed and disowned him when they had brought him to the chair, and even then he hadn’t cried. Maybe he had shed all of his tears when he had seen his beloved Mother getting beaten every night, he had nothing left._

_Gwen felt so wrong, the lever to end the sinner right in her grasp. It was self defense, was it not? Why would a sinner save another person? Sinners were supposed to be demons, to be evil and corrupt. So why would a corrupt person obsessed with chaos save another? And why would a boy so young be deserving of death?_

_Everyone else didn’t agree. They chanted for her to do it, holding their bibles and crosses, declaring her to be doing God’s will. Even his Mother did, refusing her own child with the belief he was no better than a demon, than a filthy sinner._

_Their yells overpowered the boys, as did the talking of her old partner. His hand was on hers, pushing down gently. Encouraging her._

_So she gave in, burying her head into her arm to avoid Billy’s eyes as she pulled down. Instead, she focused on the cheers, on the people supporting her, pretending that she never heard Billy’s begging for his Mommy to hold him one last time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, for those of you who haven't noticed, this is a sorta continuation of my Yandere Papyrus book I wrote over two years ago on Wattpad (it's not on AO3 yet whoops). Not a direct sequel, but if you've read that one, you can see how this one continues from that. 
> 
> Also, I'm a Christian, so don't think this is me being like anti-christian. It's basically about how, after the war, the Government took the idea of God, then basically tore it to shreds with it's own idea to promote a better society where no killer is allowed. And since everyone's raised like this, even the new Government, no one understands how it's fundamentally flawed. Even if you accidentally kill someone, you're still a sinner and are sent to the chair. No one ever tries to question it or dive deeper because it's god, therefore they have to do everything the Government says because clearly God is telling them to. Mostly everyone is corrupt, and people who are smart enough to see through don't try to question it and come up with excuses because they like comfort and they like feeling right, and if they begin to question it they'll realize they're the sinners, not the other way around, and they're bad people. So everyone is using God as a sheet to say "Oh, I'm serving God, that means I'm holy" instead of looking at themselves truthfully and admitting they've done wrong. People are afraid to see themselves as bad and convince themselves they aren't. And people actually believe it because they've been raised this way, it's everything they believe in. So to go against this is to not only rip apart the understanding of their lives and everything they thought was real, the people they trust, but also it'll rip the veil to reveal who they really are. 
> 
> Basically, that's a terrifying truth to admit to everyone follows the Government and doesn't believe any different because they've never been shown any different before. They actually believe all of this, because there's never been any other people who had challenged this perceptive. Everyone believes in the same thing, and if everyone supports each other with this belief without any questioning, they don't know any better. However, children like Billy are the exception because he first challenged Gwen. Billy hasn't fully grown up to accept this yet, he was still a questioning child, so he interacting with Gwen was what made her first question everything about the society and about the God she thought she was serving. However, with everyone else supporting her, and the girl getting praise, she was taught she was doing right, and she buried the memory believing it was the devil because that's what people taught her. Not to mention, seeing herself and everything in a new light was scary for a young adult, so she decided to stay with her comforting lies instead of ruining everything she knew by questioning it, thus keeping her in the dark. However, with the three Sans that decided to pop up from different worlds, all three of them, along with the entire case, are forcing her back into this uncomfortable middle ground where she could either remain stubborn to her beliefs, or let herself question everything and admit she herself is a bad person. Cooper is on this path too, but slower because he hadn't been on the Billy case, so this is the first time he's getting his own world questioned and torn apart. It also shows how strong Gwen is to defy the world she's believed in for so long by getting rid of her cross, the symbol for the lies the Government had built with the disguise of religion, and instead be willing to face the truth despite the consequences, remembering that memory and admitting to herself she killed a child. Which was why she ran from Blue, she wasn't willing to face that, not until now. 
> 
> Yeah, everything is messed up, and Gwen is finally letting her walls down to realize the truth. No more hiding behind the lies she built for comfort, no more letting the Government tell her how her memories are. She's looking at it herself, acknowledging all of the facts, and coming to her own conclusion without the Government trying to steer her away by promising comfort. She's growing guys, yay!
> 
> By learning everything she thought about herself and everything else was a lie and everything she's fought for has resulted in so many deaths, and that she hid herself from the ugly truth by believing in the lies the Government said instead of digging deeper.
> 
> Whoopsie.


	12. Chapter 11 - Note

“You look like sh*t… you alright?”

The statement was accurate. Too accurate. Gwen was very well aware of the bags that dragged down under her eyes, she never was good with makeup. Sans seemed a little caught off guard from her appearance, looking at her awkwardly.

“I didn’t get much sleep, no,” Gwen admitted.

There wasn’t much Gwen could do. Once she admitted to herself the truth she had been trying to avoid for so long, she realized the problem. After the war, the entire world had been joined after a new Government, to avoid war. The war was believed to be caused by sinners, thus their system.

Red was going to die no matter what, the most she could do was prolong it by continuing with the case. A few calls were made that night, and while it wouldn’t be the first time she had stayed up late to do that, it was by far the most important phone calls she ever made.

Nothing. There was no alternatives to this. The guilt had built upon her, crashing down on her soul every second she remembered the horrid fate she would be sending these skeletons to. No where to escape, no where to run. They were trapped in this system, just as she was.

So, she would continue for now.

The note was slipped to Sans, the skeleton opening it with an expression of confusion.

“This is a picture of the evidence, where the crime happened,” Gwen said, “Do you have any responses to it?”

Sans was smart, she understood that rather quickly. It took no time before he understood what she was doing, sliding the note back to her.

“None, but… yeah, I agree, he was stabbed there,” Sans muttered.

With a twist of her wrist, she was disposing of the note in her pocket, not to found. No one needed to know what it said. What mattered was that Sans agreed with what was on it, that he was on her side.

“I have to keep interrogating, as you can understand,” Gwen said, “Blue had said he managed to find a key, to escape. I’m assuming he used it?”

“Yeah, he did,” Sans said, “It’s why we were taken here, to this universe. Because we managed to escape from the other house, and we knew where to run to. We all knew the structure of the Underground, and we knew people in that universe to run to, to get help. Here, we didn’t have anywhere to escape, or anyone to turn to.”

“The others testified that Papyrus didn’t leave often, only to go to the store,” Gwen said, “And when he did, he was always with you guys. I’m wondering-”

“How we escaped if he was always home?” Sans finished for her.

The woman nodded. She couldn’t feel the cross necklace around her neck before. It was the most exhilarating feeling she has felt in awhile.

Sans shifted, wincing when his injured foot had pressure on it. Only then did Gwen finally piece together the evidence, looking at Sans with her soft green eyes, filled with determination.

“Your foot, you had said there was beartraps around the house,” She said, “And you knew about them, which means if you had escaped, you would have been watching out for them.”

The skeleton gave a curt nodding, seeming to allow the truth of their first escape to spill into the naturally cold air.

“You’ve been protecting the others this entire time, and it would make sense if you would then, too.” Gwen let her voice go quiet for a moment, her own fingers intertwined on the table. “You were the distraction, weren’t you?”

“Papyrus always favorited me over the others,” Sans said quietly, “If I got hurt, he would be so focused on me that he wouldn’t notice the others escaping.”

~~~~~~

_Blue had been extremely helpful by getting that key from Undyne, by managing to hide it from their kidnapper. However, it wasn’t him that used it. No, it was Red, who had agreed with Sans to scout out when Papyrus was finally out once more._

_They had been in that darned house for over two months, and climbing out the window felt practically refreshing. Sans and Red were the only two of their skeleton group that stepped out, simply to analyze their situation. The window cut off so much of their view, and Sans almost cried when he felt grass for the first time in forever._

_Papyrus would be back soon, they knew that. They had to use this rare time to prepare their escape. The two located where the bear traps were, so Red could lead them safely away the next time Papyrus was gone. If any of them got a foot injury, they wouldn’t be able to even run._

_Thus, the two crept along the grass, keeping weary of any other sounds as they located each and every trap around the house. If they had managed to break out and escaped in a rush, there was no doubt they would have gotten snagged by one and would have dropped fast, unable to escape. All Papyrus would have to do would be circle around the house until he spotted them._

_But there wouldn’t be enough time to get far even if they managed to dodge the bear traps, Papyrus was barely gone for long enough periods of time to even get out of the forest. None of them had maps, either, so they could get lost. Which meant Papyrus would be able to track them down, and they’d have no choice but to come back unless they would starve. Red and Sans were able to conclude if they managed to have enough time to get out of the forest, then they would have a significantly better chance of escaping. But there wouldn’t be enough time to escape, not without…_

_Not without a distraction._

_“Papyrus loves me most,” Sans had said, “I look just like his Sans. You guys would be able to escape, to go get help. You could come back for me.”_

_Red looked at him, red eyelights tinted with worry. “Are you sure?”_

_“We know Alphys is still alive, she can help us!” Sans said, “All we’d have to do is go find her on the surface, or go back Underground. The Old Lady behind the door said she never intended to leave, even if we escaped to the surface, remember? She said she couldn’t look at humanity after she failed those kids. She could help.”_

_There was a curt nod from Red. They were the only two who had knocked on the door from their group, only they knew about her. If they could get behind the doors, they could all be safe. She could come back, get Sans._

_“But what about us? He’ll still know we’re gone, and what if he decides to just bring you back and once he gets you rechained, he goes after us? We wouldn’t get very far,” Red said._

_“Not if he doesn’t notice your gone,” Sans said, “We have awhile to build up to the escape. I can act more desperate, and when I get hurt, I can distract him. Act like I need him. Papyrus loves me, doesn’t he?”_

~~~~~~

_Everything had come to this moment. Sans spent the next two weeks building up to it. Scratching more at his cuffed leg until he started bleeding. The scratches did sting, but he knew it would be far worse._

_And it was._

_When Papyrus left the next time, everyone was out of the window in an instant. Red took charge, guiding them through the bear traps. But not Sans. No, he held back, standing with his back to the house. Blue had been the only one to give him one last look before he too disappeared into the forest, leaving Sans alone to stand._

_And stand._

_The anxiety and fear was like a brick that hung at his soul, yet the feeling was nothing new. He danced from foot to foot, knowing full well that soon, he wouldn’t be able to._

_Only when he heard Papyrus’ car approaching did Sans’ breath catch, pausing. The car stopping had him looking down, the key pressing so painfully against his phalanges. A cruel reminder that he was about to be chained again, that he was willingly going to disable himself, and that he was going to disable himself, unable to escape from the man he was hated._

_But the reminder was fresh. The others were going to use this to escape. They were going to be free._

_This was for them._

_So he sucked in a breath, and with a determined soul, he took the step forward._

_Right onto the bear trap, dead center. The pain was excruciating, much like the scream that managed to tear from his throat. Sans slammed his eye sockets shut as he tore his leg to the left, fully aware that this would worsen his injury. And sure enough, it did, the unbearable pain causing Sans to fall against the grass, screams escaping just as the tears did. He could barely feel the warm blood pooling down his now broken bones, the spikes of pain far more present._

_Sure enough, there was Papyrus, happening upon Sans without checking if the others were in their room. Yeah, that was right. Focus on Sans, don’t look at the open window to an empty room. Sans forced himself to twist his still captured foot again, causing more bones to crack and splinter. Another cry of utter pain sounded, no doubt causing Papyrus to hurt. He better f*cking suffer from seeing Sans like this._

_Papyrus had managed to get Sans unhooked from the trap before he carried him inside, quickly retrieving the medical kit. Sans let himself clutch at his red scarf, not bothering to stop the tears or cries. Make himself loud, keep himself in pain. Look panicked, look vulnerable. Papyrus liked being needed, and this was giving him everything he wanted. A crying Sans, hurt and holding him back, begging for his loving brother to make him feel better. The expression was one of trying to sooth the smaller, but Sans could see the giddy smile on Papyrus’ face as he helped Sans._

_“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry-” Sans chanted, hugging back at Papyrus._

_“You shouldn’t have tried to leave, you caused this to yourself,” Papyrus hummed, his voice the terrifying quiet that Sans hated. “But don’t worry, Papyrus will make it better!”_

_“I’m sorry, I won’t e-escape again,” Sans hiccuped._

_Keep looking at him. The others were getting distance. Sans had to keep his attention. Sans forced himself to focus on the pain, to force himself to sob fatter tears._

_“No you won’t,” Papyrus said, rubbing Sans’ back, “You won’t escape anymore, right you silly bones?”_

_Sans wanted to throw up._

_That’s how they stayed, for the rest of the day. Papyrus holding onto Sans, who kept himself a crying mess as long as he could. He even let Papyrus feed him again, choking down mouthfuls of the awful spaghetti before he started crying again, causing Papyrus to need to sooth him down once more._

_It had been a good amount of time before the distraction finally wore out. But by then the others were far gone, no doubt having managed to escape from the forest. Sans had been sitting in the living room when he heard the plates meant for the others clatter to the ground in the other room._

_Papyrus had come back to the living room to find Sans giving him, for the first time in his captivity, a confident face._

_“You looking for someone?” Sans asked, smiling brightly. “I’m a really good fake crier, aren’t I?"_


	13. Chapter 12 - Hiding Spot

_Red pushed up against the tree, looking up at the darkening sky. They did it. They were escaping!_

_If only they could make progress, really. None of them had escaped to the surface, they had no idea where to run. All they knew was to get as far away from Papyrus as they could._

_Red knew his way out around the beartraps, but once they managed to escape from the forest, the extent of his knowledge ended. This was all new to him, to everyone that had been kidnapped. All he could hope was that Sans managed to hold of Papyrus long enough. His fake crying better be good._

_There was no where for them to go. All Red could do was lead them down the gravel road, pressing forward with the hopes of finding something._

_Papyrus thought of everything, didn’t the bastard? But if his old Sans was like him, then…_

_They had a chance._

_Alphys was still alive, they knew that. She was here somewhere, but Papyrus would expect them to go looking for her. While Red did hope to somehow stumble onto her, he knew it would be unlikely._

_That’s why they were going back to the mountain._

_Alphys had built the machine, they all knew that. It was why Undyne was there, so Papyrus could hold her as a hostage. But the old lady behind the door could still be in the ruins, that gave them a good place to hide, in the Underground. Where they had an advantage over Papyrus._

_What Red really wanted to go for was the notes in Alphys’ lab. If he could get the proper materials and notes, Red could rebuild the machine Alphys had created. Now that he knew it was possible, he could potentially recreate the results. Sans was the only other one in this universe that had the scientific background, but he was out of the picture right now. Red had to go rebuild it, to save all of them. The old lady knew all of the places to hide in the ruins, she could help hide them if Papyrus ever searched the Underground._

_Not to mention, Red still had the token hiding spot._

_In Snowdin, there was a hiding spot he always used. A guaranteed hiding spot, just along the trees. Red himself used it whenever Papyrus was in a bad mood, or whenever a monster got a little too angry at him, but it was perfect. If it really came down to it, they could hide there. The cold air of Snowdin was blend in with the cold air that always followed them._

_The mountain was impossible to not miss. It was their only chance to get away, having followed the road to climb up. Red clutched the tree he had been leaning against, looking ahead. The hole was right there._

_And so, they jumped down._

_Red hated not having his magic, but there was nothing he could do about that. How the heck did Papyrus even get his hands on magic restraints?_

_Flowers brushed against his ankles as Red staggered up, looking around the ruins. They were bare. Empty._

_A little too empty._

_So the Sanses continued forward, passing by solved puzzles and old vines. Where were all of the monsters?_

_“Howdy!”_

_While Red had somehow become the unspoken leader, it had been Blue who answered, kneeling down to question the small flower._

_“Um, hello there!” Blue asked._

_The flower retreated back at the sight of more than one Sans, none of them looking exactly like the Sans that belonged in this universe._

_“What are you guys- How- I saw Sans kill himself, how are there more than one?” Flowey asked._

_“We’re not from this universe, Papyrus kidnapped us,” Blue explained, “He used Undyne as a hostage so Alphys would build him a machine to cross universes. Can you help us?”_

_“No, no, I’m not going to go against Papyrus,” Flowey said, retreating back into his vines from the fear of the name. “He killed so many monsters, he even killed Frisk and broke the barrier to escape with Sans! That guy is crazy!”_ __  
  


_“Yeah, we f*cking know,” Red muttered._

_A ‘shh’ sounded from next to him. He rolled his eye lights, but nevertheless let Blue continue to speak._

_“Do you know where the person in the ruins is?” Blue asked._

_“Toriel?” Flowey asked, “She’s gone.”_

_“What do you mean?” Blue looked worried now._

_“Dead, kasplat,” Flowey said, “Another one of Papyrus’ victims. She was the only one who got close to figuring out where Sans was, she thought it’d be a great idea to avenge Frisk by defeating him and saving Sans. That’s how I saw Sans kill himself, because I had went with her, you morons. The idiot had sacrificed himself to go with Papyrus so no one else got hurt, but when he saw Toriel get killed, he realized that Papyrus wouldn’t be stopped unless he was killed. So he decided to kill himself, the trash bag told me it’d be all over when he did. Guess it wasn’t.”_

_“Are you going to tell him we were here?” Blue asked._

_“You guys don’t get it, don’t you?” Flowey asked, “Over half of the monster population is dead because of him. It won’t take him long to drive around and once he sees you guys aren’t there, he’ll come down here. I’m going back into the ground the moment he shows up, I’m not confronting that psycho.”_

_“Papyrus isn’t psycho, he’s just lonely!” Blue had argued, “I’m sure he just misses his brother.”_

_“Misses his brother, wants to kidnap his brother and kill alternate versions on him, whatever you believe, kid,” Flowey grunted, rolling his eyes. “But here, I’ll help you a bit.”_

_A vine rolled out, holding out something. Blue opened his hands, accepting the object._

_It was a knife._

_“The reason everyone keeps dying by Papyrus is because he catches them off guard,” Flowey said, “Like Grillby, he followed the bartender into Waterfall and pushed him into the river. Or like Frisk, he had attacked her when she had tried to confess to him about Sans. Toriel didn’t last because she couldn’t get close enough. If you guys can get close enough and stab him, you can kill him.”_

_“I-I can’t kill him!” Blue said, “He’s my brother!”_

_“Well, you-”_

_The sudden distant sound of someone falling onto the flowers alerted the skeletons, making them look over. Flowey gave a curt “Good luck!” before he dove back into the dirt, disappearing._

_Just like that, they were running._

_No one else would have jumped Underground, it could have only been Papyrus. Of course he had an advantage over them when it came to transport, he used to train everyday and had a car. They were short skeletons who had to walk the entire distance. Sans had probably managed to distract him enough to get them this far without him catching up, but now it was up to them._

_They had enough of a headstart to run through to the end of the ruins, noticing the doors were left wide open. Red had slammed it closed behind them before catching up._

_“Maybe if we just try to talk to Papyrus, now that we’re not chained, he’ll listen to us!” Blue had said._

_“We’re not doing that you f*cking idiot!” The other skeleton next to him yelled._

_Red caught up, his hand clutching onto Blue’s wrist._

_“We’re definitely not doing that,” Red said, “But follow me, I know a hiding spot.”_

_Papyrus was catching up, that was clear by the sound of the ruin doors. He probably had heard them talking to Flowey, he knew they were down here, and that he was on their tail. But he didn’t know the hiding spot, it was their only chance._

_Once Red managed to reach it, he crammed them into it, brushing the snow to cover the entrance. The hiding spot, while simple, was the best thing Red had ever found. There was an old tree that had been bent over at an angle, creating a large hold underneath the trunk and roots. When someone covered the outer edge with snow, it would simply look like a tree, with no evidence of someone hiding below. Sure enough, when he had gotten there, the snow was covering the hole. Red had brushed the snow back in once they were inside, sealing themselves off._

_They’d have to wait him out. Papyrus may be obsessed with them, but his favorite was still at home. His injury would need to be watched, the bandages would need to be changed. Sans would need to be fed, he would need company. Papyrus, while he liked having multiple versions of his brother, preferred the one that looked most like his Sans. If they waited him out, Papyrus would go back to his house, and give them plenty of time to get out and go to Hotland._

_Red wasn’t sure how long they had waited until Papyrus started the fake calling, the fake crying._

_“Please, I just want my brother!” He sobbed, his voice distant._

_Blue looked sadly at the exit to the cramped area, and Red vigorously shook his head in a firm ‘no, shut up’. He was going to get them all captured again! It was clearly a trap!_

_The voice grew closer, and it was evident Blue had been the one Papyrus was trying to guilt. Blue looked antsy, pulling at his sleeves as he kept looking at the exit. Red wanted to go over there and strangle him._

_“I-I can’t-” Blue whispered._

_“Blue, no!” The other skeleton next to him hissed._

_But it was too late. Blue was yelling out, telling Papyrus it was going to be okay._

_There was barely a second before the snow on their hiding spot was being kicked in, red gloved hands reaching in. Red screamed and threw himself back, silently thanking that he was the furthest from the insane guy grabbing. Black had been the unfortunate one who was grabbed first, being pulled out and-_

~~~~~~

“Wait.”

Red looked up from his story, staring at Gwen with confusion.

“You guys had said there was only three of you,” Gwen pointed out, “You, Sans, and Blue. Who’s Black?”

Red’s eye sockets went wide, and his fanged mouth crammed shut, the skeleton retreating back into the chair.

“Uh oh,” He muttered.


	14. Chapter 13 - Ruined Escape

_There was never three sets of chains in their prisons._

_There was four._

_Black was the darker side of Blue, just like Red to Sans. In the fourth corner of the room he had sat, chains connecting him to the wall just like everyone else. Black had been the third skeleton to escape, trailing after Blue and Red. He had been the skeleton to shush Red when the skeleton interrupted Flowey and Blue, he had been the one to try and stop Blue._

_Black was the one who fought the most. He was the only one confident enough to stand up against him from the start, and he had been the most disliked by Papyrus. While Red was more different looking, he was still scared of Papyrus. Red didn’t dare fight back. Not Black, no. He was the one who bit at Papyrus when he tried to get too close, he was the one who constantly tried to break his chains._

_Papyrus hated him. It was obvious to all of them. He hated how easily inclined Black was to attacking, how foul mouthed he was. Red had been trained by his own Papyrus to hold back, but not Black. Black was probably the strongest willed out of all of them, he was the only one in their old prison, in their old universe, to try and kill Papyrus._

_The first attempt had been with the fork he had been given to eat his food. Black had tried to stab Papyrus, failing as Papyrus had rather expected it. From then on, they were only given plastic utensils to work with._

_The second attempt was taking advantage of his chain, using it to trip Papyrus and try to attack him on the ground. That also did not work, and his own chain was shortened. Papyrus had hummed that good “toys” get to keep their privileges, and had said that while petting Sans’ skull. Blue was pretty sure Red had thrown up._

_The third Black had been desperate, it was his last before Undyne had given Blue the key. He didn’t have a plan, he just attacked when Papyrus tried to feed him, scratching his sharp fingernails down his face in order to try and hurt him. Papyrus got a scratch, it was the most damage any of them had gotten so far. It had been a beacon of hope._

_Until, of course, Papyrus had compared Black to an angry kitten, then had refused to feed him for a week. That had really drained Black’s strength, and washed out any sense of confidence until he was literally begging at Papyrus’ feet for food._

_However, obtaining the key had given Black new hope. There was people out there, help! They had escaped once before, and they could escape again._

_And Blue still had the knife._

_Black had been the first to be grabbed by Papyrus, struggling frantically. Snow was kicked up as he managed to elbow him, soul becoming blue before Black was forced to the ground. Blue tried to reach for the knife, but decided to keep back, trying to reason with Papyrus._

_It failed, naturally. He was so stupid back then, thinking anyone could be a good person. Papyrus loved them too much to even try._

_The reasoning got nowhere as both Black and Red tried to fight him off. It wasn’t just a fight for freedom, it was for survival. If they went back, they were all goners. This was their once chance to escape, and…_

_Well, he had ruined it. Blue had absolutely ruined it for all of them. He realized that as he sat there, watching Red and Black try to fight without any magic._

_He was an idiot._

_But there was still a small chance, right? If Blue pointed out the logic, he could strike a deal maybe! Papyrus would always be fighting them, so maybe if one of them went willingly, he’d let the others go! Then he could get the love he always wanted, and the others could go back to their universes!_

_Blue was about to make the offer before Black had gotten his hand on a nearby stick, giving a firm attack with it. The stick didn’t provide much damage, but it was something more than what he was doing previously. Red had been shoved away at this point, stumbling back into the snow._

_Black was thrown down as well, reaching out for the stick, hand fumbling out. Papyrus pushed his own foot against his arm, causing a creaking sound as Black’s arm was forced against the ground, the skeleton crying out in pain. He looked up, spitting out insults, flailing uselessly._

_“You look nothing like my Sans,” Papyrus sighed, tilting his skull. “And you act nothing like him. You’re as useless to me as Undyne.”_

_He then straightened, and lifted an arm…_

_Lifted his arm..._

~~~~~~

Blue stifled a cry, forcing a hand against his teeth as tears gathered in the corners of his eye sockets. He pulled at his collar, as if trying to escape the memories plaguing him.

“Blue?” Gwen asked.

She found her own voice quiet. Barren.

Scared.

“Papyrus killed him,” Blue choked out, “And it’s all my fault.”


	15. Chapter 14 - Sans

"Did you kill Papyrus Font?"

The question hung above Gwen for so long, taunting her every move. At this point, she was only continuing the investigation because she had to. She could hand it off, but the skeletons would meet a worse fate under the hands of someone else. She hated it.

Encouraging them to tell the truth or to lie wouldn't help. Either way, this investigation would eventually come to a close. Red would meet the chair despite the outcome. It was hopeless.

Sans itched in his chair, unease evident. They both knew this case was coming to a close soon, whether he talked or not.

How they led to that question was different than the other times. Gwen has asked about the events of moving into the new house, in her universe.

~~~~~~

_In the last universe, there was still hope. They knew the Underground, they knew the monsters. They could reach out, and escape._

_In this one, there was no hope._

_Papyrus had prepared their new home while they stayed back, unable to escape. Sans' foot was bandaged, but he couldn't walk on it. His sacrifice in the end was worthless._

_So the three skeletons sat in the old house, scowls covering their faces. Sans wasn't sure if it was him or Blue that had cried, maybe Red. But the fourth chain in the corner only further reminded them of what happened._

_The only Sans that stood up, and was gone._

_They had nothing now. Papyrus didn't feed them or even enter their room that day, he was busy in the other universe. Preparing to take them away to a place they would have no hope of escaping._

_As if. Sans had long since lost that hope. He wondered how long it would be until he dusted away._

_Blue had ruined it for them all. Red was the most angry with him, snarling out insults every chance he got. Sans had lost the will to bother and intervene, settling into his respective corner. Maybe he would somehow dust, like his counterpart that was in this room before._

_Then, finally, they had been brought to their new universe._

_Adjusting to the changes was difficult. Sans' chain was shorter, leaving him attached to the wall. As if he could move anyway, his leg was still busted. Somehow, the move had made it worse, looking at the people around him that shared his face. He hated how they were all him, how Papyrus looked like his brother._

_He couldn't imagine how someone would come here willingly. No wonder the original brother had dusted himself._

_The incident had taken place awhile after moving. Sans' will had snapped, and Papyrus saw that. He didn't want to lose another Sans from his collection, especially the one who closely resembled his brother. That's why Black wasn't a loss, and why Red was so close on the chopping block to be next. Because they were both born around killing, and were so far different from the others. Papyrus had managed to train Red from his universe, though. That's why he wasn't worried about Red, because Red was too scared to act out._

_"Get away from me!"_

_The chains dug into Sans' wrists, preventing his escape. Papyrus had situated himself between his legs, leaning in rather close, a wild look of obsession in his eye sockets._

_There wasn't much from the original universe that Papyrus had took. But if one thing was clear, he hadn't used Alphys just for the machine._

_Determination vials, long needles pointing out. Sans knew what they held, and what would happen if he got injected. He couldn't scramble away, this couldn't happen. If he got injected, he wouldn't even be able to naturally fall down. It would bound him to this fate._

_"IT'S OKAY, SILLYBONES!" Papyrus had giggled, grabbing Sans' arm. "YOU JUST NEED A BOOST! I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU AFTER YOU MELT, DON'T WORRY! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!"_

_L.O.V.E or love? Sans had a feeling it was both, really._

_He froze when blood splattered onto his clothes, face falling to horror when he saw the knife sticking out of Papyrus' chest from behind. The unused needle clattered to the floor, determination leaking out from the cracks. His dust then fell, revealing the killer, of which had been standing behind him._

~~~~~~

"I'll repeat."

Gwen swallowed, looping up at Sans as she continued to ask the impending question.

"Did you kill Papyrus Font?"

Silence. Then a shake of his head.

"No," Sans said, "I did not."


	16. Chapter 15 - Red

_Red always thought he would be able to fight against a threat. His entire life had been focused around Boss, around serving him. Yet the same threat he had been trying to protect himself from was his brother. Just a different version, one who loved him a bit too much._

_When he had been brought to the new universe, he had looked at the machine Papyrus used. Built by Alphys. If he could get his hands on it, he could escape._

_Papyrus knew this too._

_Which was why he destroyed it._

_As an example to show there was no escape. It was the final nail in the coffin, making Red choke on his tears as Papyrus stomped down on it._

_Or maybe it was just the switch to cause him to snap._

_And to attack Papyrus._

_It was Red who started the whole situation, it was Red’s fault Papyrus brought out the determination. He scared kicking and yelling, biting where he could. The others only watched as Papyrus managed to shove him back, narrowing dodging a kick towards the face._

_“I’ll kill you!” Red swore._

_“Will you, though?” Papyrus taunted, as confident as ever. “I don’t think you can.”_

_That was it. Red was done with sitting back and crying, done of being a doll for Papyrus to look at. He wanted to attack more, but it wouldn’t kill Papyrus. He hated it._

_“We’re going to fall down, f*ckface,” Red taunted back, “Don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter how hard you love us, or if you keep replacing us. We’ll always dust from either you or from falling down. We don’t love you, and we never f*cking will.”_

_Red had thought Papyrus was going to lash out, and he was ready. A piece of the sharpened drywall was behind his back in his one unchained hand, the one he had managed to get out of chaining. If Papyrus attacked, he’d take him down with him. Red and Sans were the only ones chained, they stood a chance. Blue could unlock Sans, and they could all escape. Red was fine with dying. Who cared._

_But instead, Papyrus simply giggled, standing back up and moving away. The old broken machine remained on the table after he had broken it weeks prior, taunting the captured skeletons._

_“Actually, I’ve prepared for this!” Papyrus giggled, a bounce in his step as he moved to the side._

_He pulled out one of the four vials, holding it up. “I have enough determination for each of you! That way we can be together forever!”_

_Red stuttered over his words, realizing what would happen if he got injected. They would melt, be unable to die. Stuck forever with their kidnapper, unable to fight back, unable to escape. In a constant state of pain, their purgatory._

_Papyrus couldn’t do this! Just to be with them?_

_As he walked towards Sans, someone else stood. Blue, gripping a knife, looked at Papyrus._

_And he charged._

~~~~~~

Gwen sincerely did hope it was Red who killed Papyrus. If it was him, the other two could go free while she tried to convince the government that his origins meant he had another chance for salvation, that God had sent him here for a purpose. It would have given her an advantage.

“Red, did you kill Papyrus?”

But she knew the answer, the evidence as heavy in her hands as her soul was in her chest. Sans didn’t kill Papyrus.

“No,” Red grunted, “I didn’t.”

And neither did Red.


	17. Chapter 16 - Blue

Gwen felt her throat go dry staring at the skeleton. The room felt as cold as ever, almost colder. She felt her cut coil, like she wanted to throw up.

“Are you the one who attacked Papyrus, Blue?” Gwen asked.

He averted his eyelights. “Yes…”

~~~~~~

_Papyrus never did check to see if Blue had a knife._

_Everyone else forgot he had it due to their circumstances, even Blue. He forgot it was hidden away in his clothes, only to find it when he pressed his hand against the bump. Blue had a weapon._

_Good ‘toys’ as he called them didn’t need to get chained. Because Blue had alerted Papyrus to where they had hidden, he got to remain unchained. Sans was chained because he baited Papyrus away, and Red was chained because he tried to fight back when they were captured. It really didn’t matter, Blue wouldn’t be able to go get any help if he did run away._

_That’s why he had enough of this._

_He stared down Papyrus from behind, watching him talk to Sans. He stood up, knife twisting in his hand. The skeleton next to him looked, eye sockets widening when he saw what Blue had._

_He then ran at Papyrus, yelling out “This is for Black!” before he lunged at him._

~~~~~~

Everything connected together. This was the answer Gwen was looking for.

Blue was the killer.

He rubbed his hands together, unable to meet her gaze. Everything had led to this moment. She had a confession, she could try to save him now.

But something felt… off. Like he wasn’t telling her the full story. Her gaze noticed his hand movements, catching sight of his wrist. Right, it had been injured. Like the small scar on the side of his head that she had noticed previously.

Sans’ injury was explained, he had done it on purpose.

Which begged the question…

Why did Blue have two injuries if he stabbed Papyrus from behind without any fight?

“There was a fight, wasn’t there?” Gwen asked.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask,” Blue mumbled.

~~~~~~

_In hindsight, Blue shouldn’t have yelled._

_Papyrus had managed to store the determination vial in his pocket to save it before he had turned around, catching hold of his wrist that was holding the knife. He twisted it before slamming it into a nearby counter, Blue crying out from pain._

_But he was done. Done sitting around, done pretending that Papyrus might one day turn around. He needed to go, he deserved to die._

_Blue didn’t care if he died, he had failed Black. And if he couldn’t stop Papyrus, he’d die trying._

_So he landed a punch firm on his face, twisting his arm out of his grasp. The pain burned up his body, but he ignored it, pure determination running through his body to stop this insane version of his brother._

_Would he ever see his brother again?_

_His true Papyrus flashed across his mind, gentle smile shining as bright as his orange hoodie._

_That Papyrus wasn’t this Papyrus. He never would be._

_So Blue lunged, scratching the side of his face with the knife. Papyrus shoved him backwards, grabbing him by his collar. With one last look towards Blue, he whipped his arm-_

_And slammed him right into the wall, letting his body thud to the floor with no resistance. His vision went blurry as he watched Papyrus walk away, his own trembling hand reaching out for the knife._

~~~~~~

“That’s how I got the hand injury, and the head injury… Mweh…” Blue whispered.

Ah, so that explained it. Gwen settled back into her chair. Papyrus hadn’t expected him to attack because he was injured, he would have never guessed for Blue to attack him. If he got an injury like that, he likely would have been knocked out.

Her gut coiled again, making Gwen look at his skull.

Wait.

An injury like that would guarantee unconsciousness, or an inability to have movement for a few minutes as he would need to recover. Much less movement to stab someone.

“What did Papyrus say to Sans before he tried to inject him with determination?” Gwen asked.

Blue paused. “Well… I hit my head pretty hard, I couldn’t really make out what he said…”

This didn’t make sense. Gwen opened her files in front of her, looking at the crime scene pictures taken.

There was the room they had been inside of. It was rather large, and she could see where the blood was, and the outline of where Sans had been sitting. Blue was on the other side of the room, she could see the counter he had been talking about. He had attacked Papyrus when he went to bring the determination back to Sans.

Which didn’t make sense. Red and Sans said he had been stabbed from behind when he tried to inject Sans with the determination. Blue had been knocked down on the other side of the room. With a head injury like that, there was no way he’d be able to recover that quickly to stand and deliver a killing blow to his captor.

She narrowed her green eyes at the scene. She could see Sans’ chains, the ones covered in blood. In the back corner was Red’s, close enough to watch, but far enough to involve himself. And she could see Blue’s chains, along with Black’s. So everyone’s chains were-

Were…

“Why would Black have chains in the new house?” Gwen asked.

Blue froze, looking everywhere but her at this point. If he was the murderer, like he just admitted, he would have not worried about this.

Black was killed before Papyrus even prepared to go to the new universe, he wouldn’t have needed to bring a fourth set of chains for three skeletons.

“Why are there a fourth set of chains?” Gwen asked.

Finally did Blue answer, keeping his gaze focused on his own lap. “You know how Papyrus liked to call us his ‘toys’?”

“Yes, I do.” Gwen felt like she was going to throw up.

“And if you lose a toy, you know what people do with the empty space on their shelves,” Blue said, looking up.

~~~~~~

_Blue couldn’t get the knife. His hand fell against the floor, sluggish._

_In front of his, a fourth pair of skeletal hands grasped the knife._

~~~~~~

“You replace it.” Blue finished.


	18. Chapter 17 - Robe

_They had called him Robe, as he wore long and heavy robes. Black was already taken, as was Blue, so they nicknamed him Robe. Even if Black was gone, they didn’t want to call him the new Black._

_He was the only skeleton who wasn’t kidnapped. That was why he didn’t have any chains, because he came willingly._

_Did Red even realize he was the hostage?_

_Papyrus didn’t like Red. Like Black, he was too different from his brother. Blue and Sans were more innocent, Red wasn’t. The scars from his universe would never fade, as would his training. Papyrus’ original Sans never meant for anyone to get hurt, which was why he sacrificed himself. Papyrus liked that Robe did that too._

_Red had been the hostage Papyrus had used without his knowledge. He knew Robe the moment he had stepped into his universe, apparently having done research. Papyrus knew exactly how to convince Robe to come to his universe._

_For Robe, killing was wrong. Harming innocent people should never happen, under any circumstance. After his brother, King Papyrus, had declared war with the humans, Robe had fled to the ruins. He couldn’t bare to see this play out, instead trying to protect the fallen humans. He swore to never forgive Papyrus. His brother, of which he once loved, was killing innocent youth. Robe could never forgive someone like that._

_Until one day, Papyrus was in the ruins._

_Robe knew his brother when he saw him, and this Papyrus wasn’t his. He was far too different. His face wasn’t aged with grief, it still looked fresh and young, like it did when they were younger. Before the war. Instead of royal attire, he was wearing some odd outfit._

_And he had a deal to make._

_Robe had learned of his origins from this new, alternate version of his brother. His universe was called Altertale, and Papyrus had purposefully went to this universe for him specifically. Red and Black were from bad universes, he wanted a Sans that wouldn’t try to attack. That, he had claimed, was what a real Sans was. One who sat, looking cute, making puns, and never tried to kill anyone. Robe fit that description._

_Of course, he wouldn’t come without motivation. So Papyrus had offered him a deal. If he came to the new universe, he wouldn’t be chained, and he would be saving Red’s life. If he didn’t, well, Papyrus had no use for Red. Robe was a caring skeleton, naturally he would agree to save a life of someone else._

_That’s how the fifth Sans was kidnapped. Robe, a skeleton who had stayed in the ruins to keep people safe._

_So he sat on the floor, calm dementor adding some sanity to the other Sans’. There was chains for him, in case he acted out, but it was rather clear Robe wouldn’t. He didn’t have much in his own universe, this wasn’t much different. And he swore to himself murder was always wrong, it was why he abandoned his old life and brother._

_Until the doubt began to show._

_Robe himself had always claimed murder was wrong. Yet he sat in the corner, watching these skeletons unfold their horrid story to him. There had been a different Sans before him, who had died trying to protect them. He died for nothing. Blue blamed himself for the murder. As Robe was right next to him, he watched as Blue slowly descended into madness and grief. They had tried simply to run away, it didn’t work. Papyrus was too smart._

_It made Robe question his own choices. His own brother wasn’t killing people for his obsession, he was killing people for his Kingdom. This Papyrus had killed so many for one man that wasn’t even alive anymore, how many more would he harm? Simply running away wouldn’t work, as Papyrus would just kidnap more innocent versions of his deceased brother. He replaced Black with no problem, what would stop him from replacing everyone else? Papyrus managed to get someone to build the machine before, he could likely do it again._

_This was wrong. All wrong. Robe soon realized some people couldn’t be talked down, that force had to be used in certain situations. Blue seemed to be learning this lesson too. It was horrible to watch, to learn of their tale. To think Robe abandoned his brother over something so quickly, without even trying to discuss it with him._

_What kind of brother was he? What kind of Prince was he? He had a duty to the people to keep them safe, but instead he hid behind his own ideologies, running away instead of facing the truth like a coward. Now he couldn’t see anything but the truth, it thrusted into his face with nowhere else to turn. And so, over the weeks, as he got to know the other versions of himself and the demented version of his brother, his belief was slowly chipped down until one thing was clear._

_Papyrus had to be stopped, even if it resulted in his murder._

_It had been Blue that attacked. Robe had no idea how he obtained a knife, but when he turned to see his innocent alternate self standing with a knife, he had been shocked. Blue had been driven to his end, just like Robe had._

_Papyrus would never suspect either of them to commit the crime, which was why both of them remained unchained. Blue was always talking about redemption, and Robe had previously abandoned his entire life over the declaration of war. It would come as a shock to find that Robe was the one who picked up the knife when Blue fell to the ground. After all, it had been Robe who sacrificed himself to come here for Red’s own safety. Why would he suddenly risk that again by trying to kill Papyrus?_

_Because he realized what he had been doing was wrong. And he wanted to fix it._

_All Robe had ever been in his life was an observer, never taking action. A fault of his own, really. He was supposed to become King, but instead Sans gave it to Papyrus, his brother. And when Papyrus acted as a King, trying to protect their people with a war to help them escape, Robe ran away from his own mess. And in the ruins, he never stopped one of the six children from leaving. They died because of him, because he simply sat back, too scared to participate._

_Papyrus would never suspect him. All Robe had done here was observe, like the rest of his life. Papyrus wanted a Sans like that, one that would never try to fight back._

_Unfortunately for him, he would never find one. No matter their original beliefs, if a Sans was forced into this situation, they would see the real struggles one had to face. His original brother wasn’t strong enough to face the truth, and dusted as a result. Those who were strong enough to admit the truth were willing to fight back. Papyrus would never let them go unless he was dead._

_And do, with a knife in hand, he approached from behind._

_And it was Robe who committed the murder._

_There was no satisfaction to seeing Papyrus die. The dust and blood fell down, scattering across Sans as the determination vial clattered to the ground much like the knife clattered from his fingers. They trembled harshly._

_Robe had been helping Blue up when they heard the sirens. The police. They were coming._

_The others ushered Robe out of the back door, giving him firm smiles. It’d be okay, all of them had agreed, we’ll make sure they never find you. By the time they did solve the case, Robe would be long gone._

_The skeleton had been hidden in the trees, outfit blending into the shadows as he watched his alternate versions be taken away into the cars. The police never looked for a fourth skeleton._

_With one last look at the house, Robe turned._

_And ran._


	19. Chapter 18 - A Conclusion

She was a hero, a savior. That’s what everyone told her, per usual. However, she felt more like a savior than ever before.

Because she was actually going to save them.

Gwen offered the idea to host Sans and Blue inside of her house until she got them settled out, so driving them to help Red escape was easy. As easy as it was to enter the prison, she had clearance.

She wished she could go and save Robe, but that would be the most difficult. He was being hunted down by all officers, he was on every wanted list. No one knew what he looked like, only that he was a skeleton who was wearing a robe. They couldn’t offer any images for the public, only a brief description.

Gwen drummed her fingers against the desk, looking around. After she helped them leave, she’d have to frame it like someone else did it, and that she had tried to stop it so she wouldn’t be imprisoned. Once that happened, she’d have to work on finding Robe and convincing him she was a friend to help him.

But she knew exactly who could help.

The room was freezing from the skeletons, but she came prepared, wearing a thick jacket close to her chest. Two skeletons sat around her, silently waiting for the mysterious guest to show up. She had to help Sans walk, as he still needed help getting around at decent speeds. Blue was fine, but his hand sometimes still hurt.

Finally did Cooper arrive, ducking into the room with his own jacket. His human husband followed, dark hands grasping a child in his arms. They had discussed the plan before, and everyone was on board.

“Do you have it?” Sans asked.

“Yes,” Cooper whispered, drawing out the universal traveling device. “It’s up and working now.”

Cooper and his husband would take the fall, that was the lie they had managed to piece together to cover this. He would take his family and they would escape to Sans’ universe, to help him with his foot so he could get back to his brother. They would also send the other two Sans’ home, and Cooper would take the fall for freeing Red and letting him escape. Gwen would stay behind and try to find Robe, and once she did, she’d escape with him to his universe. It’d all be over, finished.

In a sense, Robe reminded Gwen of herself. He had the same mindset as her, that killing was wrong. Not to the extent she believed it previously, but they both had been turned around due to the influence of the other skeletons. They had killed someone to protect the people they cared about, because all other options didn’t work. Gwen always convinced herself if she were ever kidnapped, she would walk away freely, that she would never have to resort to killing.

Papyrus sure did show what just how stupid she was.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Gwen lightly said to Cooper’s husband.

“Same,” He said back, offering a gentle smile.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Blue asked them, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“We’re sure,” Cooper said, “We’ve talked about this for awhile. We’re ready.”

“And the cameras saw you?” Gwen asked.

“We made sure to step in front of them,” Cooper’s husband said.

“That’s good.” Gwen stood up. “Let’s go, then.”

After Blue helped stand Sans up, they all left. Blue trailed in the back with Sans, and Gwen led the front. This was it.

She was finally going to save someone.

“Stay back here, they have secure locks on the doors,” Gwen told the group, “I know how to unlock it, but it does scan the room.”

It was to ensure no one was trying to break a sinner out, much like she was. The locks were designed to scan the room, and if it found any unidentifiable souls, it’d cause a lockdown. In case someone held tried to simply break open their door and somehow succeeded, they’d be forced into a lockdown.

The room was cold when she stepped inside. Of course it was, the skeletons were from other universes. It’d make sense… although…

They were in the other room, and Red was locked behind a door. The cold air wouldn’t be affecting this room.

Only then did she see the man, pausing her footsteps. He had heard her the moment she walked in, staring with wide eye sockets under his hood, covered by shadows.

Robe.

“Wait, wait, I’m here to help!” Gwen whispered before he could stand up, sticking up her hand.

“You are?” He asked, voice calm and smooth.

He was the tallest out of all of the Sans’, but he still resembled them with his round face. Robe stood up, folding his arms together.

“We’re getting you all out,” Gwen said, holding up the keys. “My partner fixed the machine, we’re sending you all home.”

“But what about us being murd-”

“That… it’s a mistake on this society,” Gwen admitted, “We don’t want to take any part in this anymore.”

“Ah, I see,” Robe said, chuckling lightly to himself. “I always thought a society that condemned killing no matter what was one I would enjoy. I have to apologize to my brother.”

Gwen nodded softly. If she could, she would go back to the time when she was interviewing Billy, bring him here, and take him to safety. But she couldn’t, her mistakes were already committed. No need to make any more.

“Wait,” Gwen said, looking at the lock that Robe had been fumbling with. “Had you been trying to lockpick that?”

“Yes, why?”

Almost if on cue, the lights above suddenly flashed on, distant sirens ringing across the building. Of course.

“That’s why!”

Gwen made her way over to the door, quickly twisting the key and throwing the door open to not waste any more time. She could hear the others hurrying into the room, Cooper’s baby starting to cry from the noises.

“What’s going on?” Red demanded.

“We’re getting you all out!” Cooper yelled, activating the machine. “I already figured out what universes are yours, just get in!”

As he explained, he pointed the machine towards a wall, causing a weird black looking portal to open. None of the Sans’ seemed surprised, as they likely all traveled through it before.

“Red, this is yours!” Cooper said.

“F*cking finally!” Red said, approaching the portal.

However, he paused right on the edge, turning around to give a wide grin and curt wave before he walked in. Disappearing forever.

“Robe, this one is yours next!” Cooper announced, footsteps and yells from outside approaching.

Robe wasted no words, giving a solid nod towards the others before he left. He didn’t know them as much as Gwen did, but a goodbye was still in order.

“Make sure to be with your brother, no matter what,” Gwen told him, “Don’t make the same mistakes I did, don’t abandon someone over your own selfish beliefs.”

Robe smiled at her. “I will. Good luck, and thank you.”

With that, he was gone.

Cooper barely had time to open up Blue’s door and announce he did before the doors were being forced open to their room, officers they knew shouting at them to stop.

“Gwen!” Cooper yelled, tossing the object into the air. “The universe for Sans is on it! Just press the button!”

She managed to turn before she caught the device, noticing the predicament they were inside of. They were all closer to the door, and they had to get out as quickly as possible. Blue grabbed Cooper’s husband and shoved him inside to keep him safe before Cooper followed, the small skeleton barely giving her a hopeful smile before he too disappeared.

It was just her and Sans left.

She ducked her arm under his and pulled him up, managing to get a quick pace with as she fumbled with the device. A portal was opened in front of them once she pressed the button, the officers behind her starting to close in. With one last final sprint, she threw herself and Sans forward-

And black.

~~~~~~

Papyrus shifted in his seat, Undyne wearily watching him. It’s been months, Sans has still been gone. Everyone has been worried sick, but there was nothing they could do. He was just gone.

Papyrus felt horrible. Sans had been taken by someone who looked like him, and now he never was going to see his brother again. All because he insisted on making the perfect costume at Undyne’s house instead of waiting for his brother.

If he could, Papyrus would snap his fingers, send them back, and save Sans. Everything felt worse since that day, he’s barely gotten any sleep. Alphys had ran her brain through countless sessions to come up with a possible theory, but all she could really mutter was ‘demon’ before she gave up. It was terrible, everyone missed him.

The front door squeaked open, a sudden burst of chill encompassing the room.

In other universes, Papyrus wasn’t aware what was going on. He didn’t know about the police officers slowing down the hall, looking around confused on where the woman and skeleton had gone. He didn’t know about Red, who was getting the first signs of affection from his brother by getting scooped up into his arms. He didn’t know about Blue, who was running towards Papyrus as his new friends stood back and watched, holding hands and their child.

He didn’t know about a royal skeleton, nervously trying to apologize for running to the ruins before his brother silenced him with a hug.

What he did know, though, was how he looked up to find his own brother there, standing on one foot with an arm wrapped around a black haired human, soft eyelights looking at him with a weird device bundled under his other arm.

“Hey, bro,” Sans said quietly, “Boy, do I have a story to tell you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAA, the continuation is done! Finally! I hope you enjoyed the story, and I hope the continuation satisfied all of you! Not to mention the indirect sequel of my really old He's Mine story (not on ao3 yet, one day though). Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic day!

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to check out my Wattpad, BubblyShip!


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